CURATOR'S TEXT

Karen Tam and Tong Zhou Lafrance are intimately linked by their research on the construction of narratives around the Chinese diaspora. Addressing different issues affecting this community, they take a unique look at their diasporic identity both influenced by their personal experience.

Karen Tam's Tchou’s Sheen-wah-zree installation consists of a location inspired by souvenir shops or restaurants commonly found in Chinatowns around the world. We can pronounce the title "Tchou chinoiseries", "tchou" meaning nothing more than an onomatopoeia in derision of Chinese languages, often borrowed by the uninitiated. The selected photo offers a view through the four-lobe window of the installation, giving a limited but striking glimpse at the place and the objects in it. With the image of the physical installation not allowing visitors to enter it, we provoke an effect of voyeurism. Playing with the notion of authenticity of the objects that adorn this type of place, Karen mixes found and purchased objects with those she created in papier-mâché. Basically, it questions the representation of Chinese identity through consumption.

Tong Zhou Lafrance's work comes from a series called Untitled Labour. Through “photo-weaving”, they deconstruct and reconstruct images from their adoption file. This file is made up of a set of souvenir photos collected by their parents during their stay in China for adoption. Tong Zhou wonders about their identity, more specifically about the processes surrounding adoption. The title of the series questions the opacity surrounding this practice, and especially the fact that it can be considered a taboo and potentially profitable activity. We can observe the juxtaposition between two souvenir photos, one at the top and the other at the bottom. The dark and intriguing aesthetic that emerges is a reflection of the questioning that surrounds their research. At the time of their adoption, Tong Zhou's parents were invited to visit various tourist spots; here, it was about a craft workshop.

Commonly, Karen and Tong Zhou deal with Western voyeurism on China, while Karen stages places of questionable authenticity, thus exploring the culture of the product and how it emphasizes cultural fetishes. Tong Zhou dissects souvenir photos, fragments of their past, to better understand his identity and the process that led him to Canada.