Exhibition Four: 14 April – 12 May
Artist: Carol Lee-Honson
Community
Model chairs, washi tape, chairs, plaques.
Emigrating to a new country or moving into a new suburb often means having to leave family and friends behind, settling in, getting to meet new people and hopefully feeling comfortable and secure in your new environment. It means taking the time and making the effort to introduce yourself to others. We are all linked to each other one way or the other.
“A chair implies an extended commitment to a place…. is a commitment to spending time in a place, to have a meal, to talk with friends, to read the newspaper, to create a home.” Edward Fielding
Thank you to: Express Awards and Bill Wong
Carol Lee-Honson
I am a Fiji born Chinese and became a New Zealand citizen when I was 9 years old in 1958. My mother and grandmother were born in New Zealand and my great great grandfather came to work in the Otago goldfields in 1898. My grandmother didn’t have any friends outside of the family, however, her European neighbours taught her how to cook roasts and taught her how to knit and sew. My mother and father mixed socially with Kiwis and by the time I went to school I didn’t realise that I was Chinese except for the different foods we ate. My family had paved the way for me to live a fully integrated life as a New Zealander without losing sight of my heritage. I realise it wasn’t easy for them and it was through my grandparent’s and parent’s efforts of integrating that I can now live the wonderful life that I do without prejudice.
