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‘Banana’ by Vanessa Bong – online exhibition

‘Banana’ by Vanessa Bong is a community exhibition exploring what it means to be Asian Australian. Employing gouache, watercolour, and digital techniques in her mix-media practice, Bong’s artworks explore her identity and the complexity that comes from it.

Using iconography present in Asian and Australian society, Bong highlights the impact of history and present-day media in forming cultural identity. Amid unrelenting racial discrimination, felt particularly during the pandemic, this exhibition emphasises celebration and pride. ‘Banana’ focuses on themes of food, family, displacement, and belonging whilst drawing on personal experiences that reflect how Bong’s heritage blended with her upbringing.

Bong hopes that by exploring her personal experience of being Australian Born Chinese that others feel inspired, delighted and seen.

Many of the artworks in this exhibition are for sale.

Visit our Boroondara Arts shop website to purchase an artwork.

Image credit: Vanessa Bong, ‘Huang’, 2022, digital illustration,40 x 40cm, image courtesy of the artist.
A chinese character in light yellow over a background of drawn yellow flowers
Vanessa Bong, ‘Huang’, 2022, digital illustration on fabric, 100 x 100cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: $250
Flowers in white and red on a pink square background with a red border
Vanessa Bong, ‘Hua’, 2023, digital illustration on fabric, 100 x 100cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: $250
Snack foods including a milo box drink, chip packets and wrapped lollies in pink and orange on a black square background
Vanessa Bong, ‘You are what you eat’, 2023, digital illustration on fabric, 100 x 100cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: $250
Blue and white painted vases on a white background in a repeating pattern
Vanessa Bong, ‘Blue Vases’, 2023, watercolour and digital illustration on cotton, 200 x 50cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: Not for sale
A close up of blue and white vases painted with australian birds and native flowers on a white background in a repeating pattern
Vanessa Bong, detail from ‘Blue Vases’, 2023, watercolour and digital illustration on cotton, 200 x 50cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: Not for sale
Chinese characters that read 'I don't speak chinese' on a green background surrounded by australian native flowers
Vanessa Bong, ‘I don’t Speak Chinese’, 2023, digital illustration on cotton, 200 x 50cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: Not for sale
A close up of a green background surrounded by australian native flowers in white
Vanessa Bong, detail from ‘I don’t Speak Chinese’, 2023, digital illustration on cotton, 200 x 50cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: Not for sale
Chinese characters that read 'Made in Australia' on a cream background surrounded by a round purple fruit in a repeated pattern
Vanessa Bong, ‘Made in Australia’, 2023, watercolour and digital, 200 x 50cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: Not for sale
Close up of a cream background filled with a round purple fruit in a repeated pattern
Vanessa Bong, detail from ‘Made in Australia’, 2023, watercolour and digital, 200 x 50cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: Not for sale
A black on white repeated pattern of small sunflower seeds
Vanessa Bong, ‘Sunflower Seeds’, 2023, watercolour and digital illustration on cotton, 200 x 50cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: Not for sale
A close up of a black on white repeated pattern of small sunflower seeds
Vanessa Bong, detail from ‘Sunflower Seeds’, 2023, watercolour and digital illustration on cotton, 200 x 50cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: Not for sale
A painting of a person wearing a maroon dress with long dark hair bending over to touch their knees
Vanessa Bong, ‘Oriental’, 2023, ink on paper, 42 x 29.7cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: $500
A painting of a person wearing a blue shirt and skirt, with long dark hair squatting low comfortably with their arms folded over their knees
Vanessa Bong, ‘Baby Girl’, 2023, ink on paper, 42 x 29.7cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: $500
A painting of a person wearing blue clothes, who are lying on the top of their back with their feet in the air and their arms supporting their waist to stay up
Vanessa Bong, ‘Medical’, 2023, ink on paper, 42 x 29.7cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: $500
A painting of a person with long dark hair wearing a maroon dress, maroon fishnet tights, maroon boots, sitting on the ground with their arms around their bent knees
Vanessa Bong, ‘Erotic’, 2023, ink on paper, 42 x 29.7cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Price: $500

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