Our Stories- The Layering Portrait (Foo Chow) / Helen Guek

"It is in telling our stories that we give ourselves an identity" (Yuval-Davis, 2007). Over the years I developed a keen interest in the issue of identity in my artistic expression, particularly in the underlying complexities of human existence; both in mind and heart, thoughts and feelings. I believe beneath the surface of the skin and features each of us is an amalgamation of several identities, even though some of which are more prominent than others.
This artwork “Our Stories- The Layering Portrait (Foo Chow)“ is one of the artwork in a group of portraits that seeks to capture selective individuals that represent key communal stories of Malaysian Chinese identities. I attempt to depict the experiences with layers; the memories, emotions and aspirations that underlying with the issue of cultural and ethnicity in reference to the migration history; individually and collective. I use juxtaposition, overlapping and layering images to present the shifting nature of the identity, and explore to the coexistence of different layers of experiences. In the attempt to present this inner landscape, I am drawing elements from cultural, gender and race, social policy, which influences on personal perception, experiences, memories and also collective histories. The background presented in these portraits should not be taken as literal representations of landscape, hills or road, but rather to represent the layers of experiences with images, textures and colors;the experience of places with defined through the present daily living experience. Although these images might be fragmented, juxtaposed or fading, often these are the most important elements for the construction of identity and collective history. The artworks presented suggest the fluid nature of ethnic identity, accompany by multiple factors including location, level of interaction, time period as well as generation.