Reviewed in MASS MEMO | Photography, RMIT by Leah Shyra (memoreview.net)
“My eyes first trawl over Yi ‘11’ Zhou’s photographic installation, A Wobbly Fence Standing Tall (2023), where the humble family photograph takes precedence. Unlike the fine art photograph, these vernacular images are omnipresent and stylistically repetitive. Some are gently affixed by tape, and coloured frames hold others, their layers reminiscent of a scrapbook. There is a familiarity and warmth that exudes here—a comfort that swells deep in the belly. I linger for some time in this tangled chronology of images, objects and documents, searching for clues in recurring faces and repeating places. A conversation with 11 acquaints me further: to her father who smiles holding a digital camera, to her aunt who sets the table and makes the bed, to the apartment in Tianjin which became home to generations of family. On the right are large photographic prints of a landscape and shop window, their saturated reds, blues and greens alluding to the vibrant perception of a child. Through photography and the “wobbly fence” as a metaphor for the self, 11 explores their experience of diaspora identity and cultural dissonance. Though these stories are not mine, these photographs are far from deracinated—they exist, alive and embedded with life, context, and memory.”
蹒跚的栅栏/A WOBBLY FENCE STANDING TALL
Wobbly fence stands tall 摇晃的小孩
Dear child under the wall 紧跟
not firm /not confident 风中的麦垛
Looking at the windy straw 家的围栏
蹒跚在两股力之间
一边倒向另一边
一边倒向另一边
A Wobbly Fence Standing Tall is a body of work that reflects my experience as a third culture child who grew up in a traditional Chinese family but raised in Australia. Through documentary photography, I focus on building an environment that emphasises the stereotypical lies around culture identity. This work will be centred around myself including two cultures that significantly impacted my own identity, and the grey area in which I live.
My birth and growing up was like an adventure, the starting point was a bit magical to say the least.
I was born in Dubai, which I only eventually realised after spending my baby years with no memory. I returned to China with my parents when I was two years old, and moved to Melbourne, where I live today, with my dad when I was eight. In the diverse land of Melbourne, we can often capture the colours of different cultures or talk to people from all over the world. Although we have different stories, we all call this place ‘home’.
This place holds bits and pieces of my growth, and has gradually become a witness for me to know myself or to understand myself.
Because slowly, I realised that I don’t seem to belong to this place completely, I still have a place that I would like to call my ‘hometown’, across the coast – Tianjin. Although the stories that took place there and were called ‘childhood’ are gradually blurring, I only remember the aroma of soap and the smell of the old neighbourhood that seems to be unchanged for a long time, as well as the person I love the most, my ‘Great Aunt’. However, the story of my hometown, Tianjin, has been renewed by the old family negatives that my father brought back, and it has also reshaped and influenced my perception and growth.
After three years, to be honest, homecoming is not an accurate term. My hometown is like a dusty wooden box that creaks when I open it.
I can’t seem to establish a deep emotional link with her anymore, just like the wobbly fence, I don’t know which way to fall…
蹒跚的栅栏 反映了我作为第三文化小孩成长的经历。我生于一个传统中国家庭，却长于澳大利亚。我专注于通过纪实摄影来营造一种环境，将关于文化身份的刻板印象缓缓展开。这件作品将以我为中心，诉说我所站立的灰色地带，以及两种文化裹挟中自身身份不间断的摆荡。
我的出生与成长像是一场探险，起始点说起来有些神奇。
我出生于迪拜，这是我度过了没有记忆的婴儿时期后才渐渐意识到的。两岁时和父母回到了中国，又在八岁那年和爸爸移居到了生活至今的墨尔本。在墨尔本这片多元的土地上，我们可以常常捕捉到不同的文化色彩，或者与来自世界各地的人交谈。虽然我们有着不同的故事，但我们都称这里为‘家’。
这里有着我成长的点点滴滴，也逐渐成为我认识自己或者说了解自己的见证者。
因为慢慢的，我发现自己好像并不完全归属于这里，我仍旧有一个愿意称之为‘故乡’的地方，在海岸的对面 ––– 天津。虽然发生在那儿的，被冠以名为‘小时候’的故事在逐渐模糊，只记得仿佛长久不变的家里的皂香与老旧小区的味道，同时还有那个我最爱的人，我的‘大姑妈’。但，我与故乡天津的故事，因爸爸带回来的旧底片而被再次续写，同时也重塑并影响到了我的认知与成长。
时隔三年，说实话，这是一次不太准确的回家。
故乡在我的回忆里实是像一个覆满了沙尘、打开时会发出吱呀声响的木箱。
我好像无法再与她建立深厚的情感链接，就像那蹒跚的栅栏，不知道该倒向哪方…
谢谢陪伴
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