Being and becoming an investigation into the influence of place and culture on the formation of identity through print-media

This aim of the research is to investigate the intersection of cultural identity in defining the being and becoming of Malaysian Chinese. The boundaries of differences and ethnic classifications were blurred through accumulated and intersected layers in the context of everyday here-and-now living experiences. The research traced the history of the migration and settlement of the Chinese in Malaysia as background, the overlapping and intersection of the culture identity was examined through the theory of identity with two different tendencies: one that is stable, unified and homogeneous, and the other being fluid and evolving. The discussion follows the Yuval-Davis’ theory of two Models of Belonging. The key artists in this research are: Taraneh Hemami, Redza Piyadasa, Wong Hoy Cheong, Chong Siew Ying and Yee I-Lann, who centered their production around issues of identity-formation and the nature of the diasporic life. The reference artworks presented here suggest the fluid nature of ethnic identity, accompanied by multiple factors including location, level of interaction, time period as well as generation. In defining the being and belonging of the Malaysian Chinese, personal and collective experiences are provided to illustrate the search for the belonging of home. By visually manifesting these submerged and accumulated layers of intersection, they seek to represent the evolving inner realities of the Malaysian Chinese, which have been altered and overlapped by the everyday living experience as fusion constructed individuals.