SAENG SAA 生沙

生沙 Saeng Saa is an expanded silk painting to which song lyrics are added in Chinese calligraphy, embroidery, linocut printing, and resist dyeing techniques. The focal point of this work is the Saturn peach, taken from a lament inspired by fruits. In the lyrics, the bride compares herself to a beautiful peach sighing in the shadows. Chan highlights “生沙” (pronounced Saeng Saa), the Waitau phrase for beautiful, by intricately embroidering it with vintage 14-carat gold thread. The delicate nature of the gold thread is mirrored in the carefully unraveled, frayed bottom edge, evoking a tension between the acts of repair and undoing.

Chan, with Waitau ancestry through her mother, first heard about the obsolete lament ritual in 2017. Since then, she has been learning the songs from elderly Waitau women in Hong Kong’s New Territories, assisted by her mother as a translator. Aware that she is still learning about Waitau culture and her relationship to it, Chan describes her creations as “imperfect acts of translation”, through which she explores diasporic connections and disconnections from her country of origin and her Australian lived experience.

生沙 Saeng Saa was part of Language Exchange, a group show curated by Amy Prcevich. Language Exchange foregrounds the experience of being connected to non-English languages while living in predominantly English-speaking Australia. The exhibition engages artists from several cultural backgrounds to create a dialogue between the layered feelings of joy, sorrow, community, recognition and revival that stems from the loss and acquisition of heritage languages.

Fairfield City Museum & Gallery
24 February - 8 June 2024