The idea began in Sheffield.

Earlier in 2023, during my artist residency at Bloc Projects, I found myself meeting members of the Hong Kong diaspora in Sheffield and Scotland, people who had left since 2019 and were quietly rebuilding their lives elsewhere. I kept thinking about our community in Australia, and what it might mean to bring them together through art.

Hello 你好嘛? (Nei Hou Ma) was the result. Co-curated with Rachael Kiang and commissioned by AusHK Link 澳港聯, the exhibition brought together 11 Hong Kong-Australian artists from four states, exploring what it means to be part of the Hong Kong diaspora today. At its heart, it was also an act of visibility—Hong Kong-Australian artists bring a distinct cultural perspective and artistic voice that deserves to be seen and recognised on its own terms. This project was my way of creating that space, and of making sure these artists were not overlooked or misread within the broader landscape of Australian contemporary art.

The title is a simple greeting—'how are you'—that carries more weight than its words suggest when asked across distance and displacement.

The exhibition was hosted at Articulate Project Space, Leichhardt, in June and July 2023. Public programs included an opening performance by Natalie Quan Yau Tso, a sticky rice dumpling making workshop, a Cantonese exhibition tour, and a closing performance by Rainbow Chan. An online panel discussion extended the conversation beyond the gallery walls.

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As a participating artist, I contributed two works. Hello 你好嘛? is a neon sculpture in blue and red, using both English and Cantonese to explore the similarities and differences between languages and the cultures they carry. Through neon, a medium that references Hong Kong’s disappearing street signage, the work speaks to the energy and fragility of diasporic identity in a new place.

Return to the Pedestrian Walkway (上番行人路!) is a mixed media installation featuring protest toys shipped from Hong Kong to Australia, arranged throughout the gallery with an accompanying audio component. The title references the phrase used by authorities to disperse protesters during the 2019 to 2020 demonstrations. The work holds the memory of those events and the people who lived through them, and asks what it means to carry that history into a new country.

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Hello 你好嘛? (Nei Hou Ma) was commissioned and supported by AusHK Link 澳港聯, co-curated by Rachael Kiang and Pamela Leung, and hosted at Articulate Project Space, Sydney, June to July 2023.

Artists: Rainbow Chan, Frankie Chow, Ko Chung Ming (Hong Kong-Taiwanese), Nikki Lam, Tammy Law, Pamela Leung, LOK., Scotty So, Cyrus Tang, Tse Ming Chong, Natalie Quan Yau Tso, John Young.