Year: 2024

Medium: Installation

Materials: Mixed media including found and personal objects, video projections, audio recordings and photographic prints  

Artist Statement: My Uncle สุรช้ย shares iPhone images of my Grandmother’s ลัดดา daily dining ritual. Through our shared love of food, these images foster a sense of closeness between us despite the physical distance. As a second-generation Asian Australian who does not speak Thai, I explore my personal experiences of communicating with family through the communal language of food.

Through a vintage TV displaying a video collage of familial meals and interactions, Ladda ลัดดา invites viewers into an intimate narrative of shared experiences and cultural exchange. The installation symbolises the recent journey of reconnecting with my Thai heritage, after growing up disconnected from my ethnic identity. It examines food as the conduit for my cultural continuum, exploring how connections within family are fostered and maintained through the simple act of sharing a meal. Ladda ลัดดา reflects on how these familial bonds have shaped my identity, personal history, and ongoing connections with the wider Asian diaspora.