Monica Trieu
'bring this to auntie' 2024, Ceramics, glaze, found milk crates, construction screws, oil on MDF board, wood panel, grout, cardboard, acrylic on found paper.
Artist statement
bring this to auntie looks at traces of migrant and ethnic acts of community building in private garden spaces. Making reference to the traditional Chinese folktale ‘The Spider and the Silkworm’, the painting series draws parallels between a silkworm’s labour and purpose in spinning silk, and my dad’s garden. The work depicts the process of growth in dad’s garden and the sharing of his harvests to my aunties as a mode of collaborative survival and nourishment. Specifically focusing on the transformation of our chillies into chilli oil. Engaging with representations of map routes between the various familial houses, plant roots, spider webs, mulberry leaves, silkworms and silk I interrogate the connection between land, labour and collective growth in this small-scale community.
Acknowledgement of Country
UNSW School of Art & Design stands on an important place of learning and exchange first occupied by the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples.
We acknowledge the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land that our students and staff share, create and operate on. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend this respect to all First Nations peoples across Australia. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
