To Grow Roots Where They Land

落地⽣根

A series of portraits telling the story of 6 descendants of Chinese Refugee wives who arrived in Aotearoa during 1939-1940.

Role

Graphic Design

Writer

Year

2021

Commissioned by

Britomart

Collaborators

Photographer - John Rata

Historian - Lily Lee

For Lunar New Year 2021, Britomart commissioned me to design a series of poster panels to be exhibited around the Britomart Pavilions, and flags located at the entrance of Takutai Square and around the precinct.

This exhibition would go alongside my Whale Tale, also commissioned by Britomart, which tells the migration story of early Chinese immigrants to Aotearoa. 落地⽣根 To Grow Roots Where They Land expands upon this narrative by sharing the story of the arrival of the Chinese refugee wives as told through their descendants. Chinese New Year is a time for families to be together, so it made sense for me to tell this significant point in Chinese New Zealand history.

Photos by Joe Hockley

This project was such a humbling experience getting to work with historian Lily Lee, and having the honour to learn and share the amazing stories of these six wonderful people and their families.

Britomart also published my interviews with the Chinese descendants