Questions About a Word
2024 - 2025
Triptych moving-image with sound
5760 x 1080 pixels
13 minutes 44 seconds
Questions About a Word is a video essay exploring linguistic barriers across time. It examines a language-learning technique that annotates English phonetics with Chinese characters, a method adopted by Chinese gold miners and me, even though we are 150 years apart. Tracing the resonances between these linguistic ephemera from the Victorian goldfields and my own experience of learning English as a second language, the work illuminates the enduring challenges faced by generations of Chinese immigrants in Australia. It invites audiences into an imaginary conversation around a single question: in what ways can we overcome linguistic barriers to foster dialogue and understanding toward a future of multicultural flourishing?
The work began in 2023, with multiple iterations exhibited and regenerated throughout 2024. The final version was completed in 2025, settling into a triptych form for a polyphonic expression. It was exhibited at Footscray Community Arts as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
