TRANSCRIPT
Painted along an alley way in Sydney’s China Town district, Jason Wing’s mural, ‘In between two worlds’ is a dynamic expression of bi-cultural identity, weaving together elements of his Chinese and Aboriginal heritage.
"I'm a descendant of the Biripi Mob. On my father's side, I have Cantonese Heritage from Guandong Province, mainland China, just off Hong Kong. I like to refer to myself as I'm 100% Chinese, 100% Aboriginal, 100% Australian. That's how I like to think of my cultures. And I always see with those three lenses."
This influence of culture also present in his art-practice.
"We reference traditional cave painting techniques like the chewing of ochre and splatter. The Chinese paper cuts actually just act as a stencil, and the ochre splatter creates the image. So I was able to combine two really core elements really early."
As the Lunar calendar moves from the year of the dragon to the year of the snake, his latest mural has been created alongside his partner, Gunu Baakindji artist Maddison Gibbs.
It's a symbolic embrace of Aboriginal and Chinese culture, the serpent sacred in both.
"The dragon is the symbol for the emperor, the most fierce, strongest, most powerful spiritual, creative animal, which we believe existed in a different form. That's a symbol of strength. The serpent for me represents strength, adaptation, overcoming all obstacles and boundaries with limitations. The rainbow serpent ... it's created our land sea, it's a fertility, it's a female energy."
This is multi-disciplinary artist Maddison Gibbs.
"I felt proud the whole time painting it because there was so many different people from different communities coming up to us and saying, I understand this story, I see it."
The power of sparking conversations through public art - another driver behind the duo’s creative process.
"253 years of colonisation is too much and has been at the detriment of everybody in this country. So, I think reclaiming space is the way forward for the future. I think truth telling and reclaiming space is the only way to start fresh and to move forward."
"I only really want them to ask the question, why is that imagery or why those colours or why that combination. For me, a visual Aboriginal presence and a visual Chinese presence together is enough because there’s an extreme lack of, or any cultural presence in Australia, specifically Aboriginal. Murals are a great antidote to that, reclaiming that visual space that everything from us was taken. This is one way to sort of say, we're still here, we're still fighting."
The year of the wood snake is said to bring in a year of growth and prosperity – and for Wing, this next celestial shift is especially significant.
"I'm born in the Chinese year of the snake, so I'm a fire snake in Chinese zodiac. I celebrate Lunar New Year every year. It's always been a big part of our family... The dragon dances, the firecrackers… there's nothing better than seeing your culture celebrated."
