#UNMASKEDSELFIESINSOLIDARITY (2020)

Project collaborators: Isabella Capezio, Marnie Badham, Klare Lansen, Sherry Liu, Wilson Yeung,
Jan Sze Wing Ting, Rosina Yuan and Tammy Wong Hulbert and the RMIT School of Art community
RMIT School of Art - Belonging Initiative 
February - March, 2020

Virtually on Facebook, Weibo, Instagram & WeChat
Unmasked Selfie Wall - School of Art Building 2
Rey Area Exhibition - School of Art Building 24

#unmaskedselfiesinsolidarity (2020) was a collaborative participatory art project responding to the early stages of the COVID-19 health crisis and associated travel ban on Chinese nationals, impacting on our international Chinese students returning to Australia in 2020. The circumstances highlighted the unseen barriers and complexities transnational individuals continue to face in Australia. The project gave a platform to those affected to express themselves and for our wider community to show empathy and solidarity in this time of global crisis. Through Facebook, Instagram, WeChat and Weibo we collected images which contributed to our Unmasked Selfie Wall in Building 2 and an exhibition in the Rey Area in the School of Art. The images revealed our students and staff hopes, fears and anxieties alongside expressions of compassion and empathy for the situation. 

Image above: Detail of the Unmasked Selfie Wall in Building 2.

Media relating to this project
The Arts in Response to COVID-19 Racism, Three Belly Buttons Podcast, interview by artist Siying Zhou 

with guests Priya Srinivasen, Anu Radha & Tammy Wong Hulbert, 18 June, 2020
‘We are waiting for you’: Australian students send solidarity messages to Wuhan as racism escalates, Cait Kelly, The New Daily, 15 February, 2020