A Sense of Belonging: Neither Here Nor There (2018)

As a Malay-Chinese individual, the feeling of being neither here nor there has been a concern for me, and is sometimes exacerbated when I spend time overseas. During my artist residency at Tentacles Gallery, I was fortunate enough to meet an artist from Pattani, Thailand, who spoke Malay. This encounter led me to seek out other Malay-speaking locals in Bangkok. Such interactions triggered a sense of connection, rooted in our common use of the Malay language, and sparked off an exploration into the Malay / Malay-speaking communities in Bangkok.

The solo exhibition at Tentacles Gallery, A Sense of Belonging: Neither Here Nor There consists of several parts. T-shirts are printed with ‘Chat with me’ in Malay and the phonemic expression of the Malay phrase in Thai, and they were part of a performative gesture — I wore the T-shirts and walked around Bangkok, hoping to find people who could read the phrases and speak to me in Malay, thus identifying fellow Malay-speaking individuals.

In a work-in-progress preview, viewers are invited to write down what they know about the Malay / Malay-speaking communities in Thailand on post-its, thus allowing me to gauge the public’s understanding of these communities.

I also built a brick structure in response to my research on the historical, political and societal position of the Malay / Malay-speaking communities in Thailand, and displayed books used in my research.

Read Onarto’s article on this solo exhibition here.
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Presented as part of my residency at Tentacles Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand.