BEV MOON:

Fortune

11 November 2023 – 21 January 2024

Fortune by Auckland-based artist Bev Moon (Cantonese, Taishanese) is a yum cha feast created lovingly from wool. The exhibition is Moon's tribute to her Chinese mother and grandmother who faced great obstacles to settle in New Zealand as refugees during WWII. After working to pay a £200 bond to the New Zealand government to secure passage, they were granted a two-year temporary refugee permit. Yip Sue Yen and Lee Choy Kee were just two of among 500 Chinese women and children granted this permit while escaping the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945. They were able to come because Moon’s male ancestors were already here, having arrived in New Zealand over successive generations, firstly settling in Gore in the 1880s in search of gold, then in the market gardens of Ashburton, laundries in the South, and eventually Wellington. Both women were superb cooks and accomplished knitters, and here Moon weaves both crafts together in this touching tribute of knitted pork buns, dumplings and more. Complete with table and all the trimmings, this is a yum cha not to miss.