Makeda Duong

Mixed Race Sweater | 7 Aug – 4 Sept – Nexus Arts Gallery

Biography

Makeda Duong graduated from the South Australian School of Art in 2013 with a Bachelor of Visual Arts Specialising in textiles. Since 2013 she has participated in several group exhibitions and one solo exhibition, locally and interstate. She has also been able to participate in two artist’s mentorships, with Adelaide artists Sera Waters and Cheryl Hutchens. Her current practice attempts to unravel and represent aspects of her lived experience in relation to themes such as race, gender, sexuality, and mental health. She is currently undertaking a Studio Residency at Nexus Arts as part of the SALA Festival 2020.

Award Submission

My recent work reflects on my lived experience as a mixed race, Vietnamese Australian. I hope to touch on the complexity of being a biracial Australian by exploring issues of belonging, otherness, and the feelings of being caught in-between cultures that second and third generation immigrants can experience. With this work I aim to examine my own cultural identity more closely, as well as explore how my identity and sense of belonging may be reflective of larger cultural anxieties. I believe this aligns with the Don Dunstan Foundation’s focus on cultural and ethnic diversity.