History as medium

Why and how does art engage with contentious histories? Hear from artist John Young, joined by Shuxia Chen, Sophie Loy-Wilson and Olivier Krischer, as they discuss the distinct ways art can forge affective relationships to the past in the present. 

John Young’s etching series Time’s Slow Passing (2023) is a meticulous reproduction of the diary of nineteenth century Chinese migrant Jong Ah Siug/Sing, who spent the last decades of his life in a Victorian mental asylum following an altercation on the goldfields. Currently displayed alongside the rarely seen original in Chau Chak Wing Museum’s exhibition The trace is not a presence…, this recent project extends the concerns of Young’s fifteen-year cycle of works titled 'The History Projects'. These developed what Young has called ‘an ethical relationship to history’, and are the subject of a major new edited book published by Power Publications.

In this panel, the artist will discuss his intentions and methods in addressing Chinese Australian histories, joined by Dr. Shuxia Chen, curator of The Trace is not a presence…, Dr. Olivier Krischer, editor of John Young: The History Projects, as well as University of Sydney historian, Dr Sophie Loy-Wilson, one of the book’s contributing authors.