Charms of Fairfield
Mixed Metals

MÌNH
Curated by Sheila Paham
29 April - 14 October 2023

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Fairfield City Museum Gallery
634 The Horseley Drive, Smithfield, NSW, 2164.
https://www.fcmg.nsw.gov.au/Exhibitions-Events/Current-Upcoming-Exhibitions/MÌNH

Photography
2. + 3. Silversalt Photography
1. + 4. + 5. + 6. Courtesy of the Artist

*Panel Discussion led by Sheila Ngoc Pham
Facilitated jewellery metal stamping workshop for Fairfield City Community Day and Wetherill Park Shopping Centre Celebration of Cultures week.

My personal narrative and practice as an object cultural maker is the catalyst for seeking a visual language that is representative of the hybrid cultures that is shared by many. This project draws upon my personal narrative and identity as an Australian with Chinese-Vietnamese lineage and growing up in the Fairfield West community.

Growing up in a migrant family meant that I was living in-between cultures. At home, family traditions around ancestor and deity worship were important. We celebrated festivals that were significant to the Chinese and Vietnamese community and central to this was food. It was natural for my family to see ‘our scene’ as being the neighbouring suburbs around Fairfield, including Cabramatta, Canley Heights, Canley Vale. These suburbs were enclaves of migrants, social places for eating, grocery shopping and opportunities to speaking our first languages.

Places like Cabramatta are a visual confluence of cultures: shop signs, food packaging and fruit and vegetables native to Asia represent an addition to the Australian cultural fabrication. It is fascinating to observe how traditional and visual motifs–and food in particular–has entered mainstream Australian culture. Food like phở, bánh mì and bao have taken root. I want my work to be a celebration of these icons, presented as a graphic and jewellery design installation of charms. Through the lens of contemporary jewellery traditions, the visual vernaculars, stereotypes and identities using the traditions of charm making are made important. The design inspiration for the charms is a visual composition of my every day. These are a fusion of text, cultural imagery, traditional objects, food, celebrations and the home. Mixed into this are also Australian visual references creating hybrid compositions.

The charm is a very old ubiquitous form in jewellery. Charms are objects in many cultures that are often worn, carried and charged with magical powers and auspicious meaning. In my experiences of growing up in south-west Sydney, the design of charms were mostly represented with Western symbolic imagery. For this exhibition, I am taking the opportunity to recharge this dialogue by making charms using imagery connecting the cultural context of Fairfield in relationship to my personal experiences. There are 43 charms in the exhibition, representing the number of years I have been in Australia. The charms are handmade combining some cast components using and mixing precious metals: gold and silver. By using precious alloys in the design and making, I am re-asserting the value and importance of this dialogue.

Charms of Fairfield examines my transcultural hybrid experiences and my relationship to the Fairfield region on Dharug land. It reflects my experiences, my Chinese-Vietnamese and Australian upbringing. I hope that the reflections on the metal, the visual graphics and installation as a whole can charm the community of Fairfield.

I would like to acknowledge that the material cost for this project was funded by the UNSW School of Art & Design 2022 Research Grant Scheme.