Carruthers, Ashley. Viêt – celebrating 25 years of Vietnamese settlement in Australia, Casula Powerhouse art centre, 2000, ill. (catalogue extract)

3-26 November 2000
Casula Powerhouse art centre

CROSSOVER

(Extract from catalogue essay)
…..The non-Vietnamese artist in the show, Nathalie Hartog, has produced a series of etchings of “crossover” words, ie., Vietnamese words that have made their way into Australian English. Non-Vietnamese speakers will be surprised at how many Vietnamese words they knew without knowing they knew. This work is fun, but it also conveys a serious message about intercultural contact and the impact of Vietnamese culture on Australia. In the context of the new “tough” migration policy and recent waves of Middle Eastern and other boat people, the Vietnamese in Australia are it seems finally becoming part of the cultural landscape. This is unfortunate for the new so-called “illegal immigrants”, but fortunate for the Vietnamese community in Australia, since they can no longer be seen as the “latest wave” of migrants, who always loom large as a threat to national order in the Australian psyche. The Vietnamese in Australia now “belong” more than ever, and the proof is that non-Vietnamese Australians are beginning to speak their language!

Ashley Carruthers

Crossover
Installation of 16 prints
Medium: collograph, drypoint, relief print
Size each 29 x 35,5cm