Converging Boundaries, Everyone and Nobody (Mask)
Run Amok Gallery, George Town, Malaysia
Materials: Paper, acrylic, ink, food packaging, stickers
Documentation of this performance is broken into three groups of photo; Masks, Procession, and Ceremony.
The performance Converging Boundaries, Everyone and Nobody was undertaken for group exhibition FALL INTO THE SEA TO BECOME AN ISLAND at Run Amok Gallery, George Town, Malaysia and curated into the annual George Town Festival.
The chef hat/masks derive from an ongoing series of folded paper sculptures Brigade, 2007-present. Adorned with food packaging, fast food logos and kitsch religious pattern, they refer to Penang’s multicultural street food history and the growing prevalence of pre-packaged brand name products used by street vendors. I was motivated to explore the visible overlap between traditional cuisine identity and the presence of corporate food franchises that appropriate and homogenise local tastes. Local concern is that authenticity will be lost from Penang’s culturally diverse street food, a major tourist draw-card. Ironically, the local government is pursuing new laws to keep street vendor food traditional, claiming they need to stop migrants workers from corrupting Penang cuisine.
This project was made possible with support from Asialink and George Town Festival.
