Banquet of love _{by Alessia Belsito-Riera}

A knitted yum cha feast of wontons, dumplings, pork buns, spring rolls, and more has been laid out at Te Waka Huia Wellington Museum until the 27^th of April. This banquet of history, culture, and family tradition called Fortune is a labour of love by Kiwi Chinese artist Bev Moon, whose work reflects on her family’s migration to New Zealand and her bicultural upbringing.

Fortune pays homage to Moon’s mother and grandmother, who were two of only 500 Chinese women and children granted temporary refuge in New Zealand in 1940 during the Sino-Japanese War.

During lockdown, “I made a few wool spheres, and they reminded me of the BBQ pork buns I used to make with my mother”, she says. “What excited me was the thought of blending cooking and knitting into one creation – both were skills my mother and grandmother had mastered, so it felt like a perfect tribute”.

While her great-grandfathers came to Aotearoa in the 1880s, they remained separated from their wives and kids due to stringent restrictions on New Zealand immigration. Alongside the knitted banquet are images and objects from Moon’s family collection as well as photographs from Wellington’s Chinese community.

“Growing up, ours was the only Chinese family at our school. I always knew my family’s story was different from the other kids’, and that my mother was a refugee. But it wasn’t until much later that I truly understood the impact of the Chinese Poll Tax on our family – and on other Chinese families of that time,” Moon continues. “I hope that by sharing this, people will gain a deeper understanding of the history of Chinese immigrants in this country and the contributions they’ve made.”