Goonj - Being Brown in Chinatown
Whenever South Asians have been included in the history of Vancouver, it has often been as a funny anecdote or a cursory sidebar that reaffirms a racial stereotype. However, the South Asian community has a rich oral history and vibrant print culture that points to a century long presence in Vancouver鈥檚 Chinatown that is not reflected in the 鈥渙fficial archives鈥�. These stories speak of friendships, building communities, shared political action, and intercultural ties that sought to redefine the idea of Vancouver as something other than 鈥淲hite Man鈥檚 Country鈥�.
Goonj! Being Brown in Chinatown brings together a trio of young Asian artists along the West Coast who are engaged with the processes of historical remembering and re-imagining. They centre the existence of South Asian history in the space of an early, emerging Chinatown and interact with the revolutionary echoes of past and future struggles. Bay area based graffiti artist Nisha Sembi reconnects the histories of the Pacific Coast Gadhar movements through pop art and graffiti. Emerging artist Jagdeep Raina uses charcoal and paint to refashion archival photos of South Asians as palimpsests of history and memory. Yule Ken Lum stitches together old blue jeans to reconstruct a blue cyanotype taken in the aftermath of the Chinatown Race Riot of 1907. Surrounded by archival images of the Sikh community, the voices of pioneers in song, and old issues of freedom newspapers, Goonj! Being Brown in Chinatown creates the evidence of our past by seeing old forms in new ways.
For Yule Ken Lum鈥檚 project we are seeking jeans! Lots of jeans!
An homage to both his mother and intercultural histories of Vancouver鈥檚 Chinatown, Yule Ken Lum is creating a portrait of a Sikh man who, though present in a well known cyanotype of the aftermath of the anti-Asian riots of 1907, has very consistently been cropped out. Perhaps he disrupts more convenient narratives, or perhaps he鈥檚 cut for more mundane reasons. Using the method of portraiture 鈥� an intercultural assertion of inclusion, Lum reflects importantly on local labour histories. With coaching from and in partial honour of his mother, who as an immigrant labourer sewed jeans in Vancouver for nearly 3 decades, Ken will be creating this massive denim patchwork portrait with the collaboration of members of the community.
Jeans can be dropped off at Centre A (229 E. Georgia Street) during regular gallery hours. Jeans not used for the project will be donated to a local charity.
Featuring Artists: Yule Ken Lum, Nisha Kaur Sembi and Jagdeep Raina.
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Whenever South Asians have been included in the history of Vancouver, it has often been as a funny anecdote or a cursory sidebar that reaffirms a racial stereotype. However, the South Asian community has a rich oral history and vibrant print culture that points to a century long presence in Vancouver鈥檚 Chinatown that is not reflected in the 鈥渙fficial archives鈥�. These stories speak of friendships, building communities, shared political action, and intercultural ties that sought to redefine the idea of Vancouver as something other than 鈥淲hite Man鈥檚 Country鈥�.
Goonj! Being Brown in Chinatown brings together a trio of young Asian artists along the West Coast who are engaged with the processes of historical remembering and re-imagining. They centre the existence of South Asian history in the space of an early, emerging Chinatown and interact with the revolutionary echoes of past and future struggles. Bay area based graffiti artist Nisha Sembi reconnects the histories of the Pacific Coast Gadhar movements through pop art and graffiti. Emerging artist Jagdeep Raina uses charcoal and paint to refashion archival photos of South Asians as palimpsests of history and memory. Yule Ken Lum stitches together old blue jeans to reconstruct a blue cyanotype taken in the aftermath of the Chinatown Race Riot of 1907. Surrounded by archival images of the Sikh community, the voices of pioneers in song, and old issues of freedom newspapers, Goonj! Being Brown in Chinatown creates the evidence of our past by seeing old forms in new ways.
For Yule Ken Lum鈥檚 project we are seeking jeans! Lots of jeans!
An homage to both his mother and intercultural histories of Vancouver鈥檚 Chinatown, Yule Ken Lum is creating a portrait of a Sikh man who, though present in a well known cyanotype of the aftermath of the anti-Asian riots of 1907, has very consistently been cropped out. Perhaps he disrupts more convenient narratives, or perhaps he鈥檚 cut for more mundane reasons. Using the method of portraiture 鈥� an intercultural assertion of inclusion, Lum reflects importantly on local labour histories. With coaching from and in partial honour of his mother, who as an immigrant labourer sewed jeans in Vancouver for nearly 3 decades, Ken will be creating this massive denim patchwork portrait with the collaboration of members of the community.
Jeans can be dropped off at Centre A (229 E. Georgia Street) during regular gallery hours. Jeans not used for the project will be donated to a local charity.
Featuring Artists: Yule Ken Lum, Nisha Kaur Sembi and Jagdeep Raina.
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