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Bev Moon

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Bev Moon
Born
Wellington, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Known forpainting, knitting
Notable workFortune
Styleknitted yum cha, mixed media

Bev Moon (born Wellington, New Zealand) is an Auckland-based, New Zealand artist of Seyip, Taishanese and Cantonese descent, who is known for her knitted yum cha artworks. Moon is also a New Zealand Chinese Poll Tax descendant.[1][2]

Early life and family

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Moon was born and raised in Wellington, and is descended from Taishanese men who arrived in New Zealand searching for gold in the 1880s. The wives had to stay in China because of the Chinese Poll Tax placed on Chinese immigrants. It was the aim for the New Zealand government to made Chinese immigrants difficult to come to New Zealand.[1]

During the Second World War, Moon's grandmother and mother were two out of the five hundred women and children from China that was given refuge temporarily by the New Zealand government to flee the Sino-Japanese War.[1]

Art career and Fortune

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Moon's artwork installation, Fortune, is made as a tribute to her mother and grandmother, both her mother and grandmother were skilled cooks and knitters.[3] During the 2021 lockdown in Auckland, Moon challenged herself to knit dumplings in the shapes she used to make with her mother as a child. She first started with BBQ pork buns and she managed to kept on going. She created as many dishes as she could before March 2022, which would have been her mother’s 90th birthday if she was still alive.[2]

Fortune was later exhibited throughout the country. Moon felt it was significant to show Fortune in Gore, as her family have deep history and connections to the area, because her ancestors came to New Zealand from China looking for gold and then ended up running a small laundry business in Gore in the 1880s.[4] Fortune explores various difficulties and opportunities experienced by the early New Zealand Chinese settlers, through food and craft.[5][6] Fortune was supported by The Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust.[7]

Moon also made a smaller version of Fortune for the exhibition A Place to Call Home: Contemporary New Zealand Asian Art, in 2023 at Bergman Gallery, and was invited by the gallery again in 2024 for Belonging, Stories of the Contemporary New Zealand Asian Artists.[8] Fortune in Bergman Gallery featured a cat in the centre holding a bowl of chips, a reference to Moon's father's 32-year-old fish and chips business.[9] She stated she aims to educate people about the Chinese Poll Tax with Fortune.[10]

Selected solo exhibitions

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Selected group exhibitions

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  • 2024: Belonging, Stories of the Contemporary New Zealand Asian Artists, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand[8]
  • 2023: A Place to Call Home: Contemporary New Zealand Asian Art, Bergman Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand[9]
  • 2022: Pick’n’Mix, Studio 445, Karangahape Road, Auckland, New Zealand[12]
  • 2021: Crackerjack, Browne School of Art, Auckland, New Zealand[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Feast for the eyes coming to Whanganui Regional Museum". NZ Herald. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "The Post". www.thepost.co.nz. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  3. ^ Dignan, James (24 August 2023). "Art Seen: "Fortune", Hocken Collections Gallery". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Artist's Gore link enhances exhibition". Otago Daily Times Online News. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Knitted yum cha feast pays homage to the stories of Chinese refugees". NZ Herald. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  6. ^ Mahajan, Praneeta (24 February 2023). "Arts Festival a sumptuous treat for the eyes". indiannewslink.co.nz. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b Rowley, Ellie (1 August 2023). "Carefully crafted exhibition honours Chinese settlers". University of Otago. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  8. ^ a b Mahajan, Praneeta (12 July 2024). "Artists to showcase Asian Heritage at Bergman Gallery". indiannewslink.co.nz. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  9. ^ a b Matthew, Ricky (2023-08-10). "Showcasing Artists' Perspectives on Belonging and Cultural Evolution". Filipino Migrant News. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  10. ^ "A Yum Cha feast for Aotearoa history". RNZ. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Fortune". Artnow. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  12. ^ "Pick 'n' Mix at Studio 445". Crowe Creative. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  13. ^ "BSA Members' Display 2021, Browne School of Art | Artsdiary 3540". www.artsdiary.co.nz. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
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