I am not a virus (我不是病毒), mixed media artwork by Desmond Mah

Description

Titled I am not a virus, an olfactory painting, investigates the uncanny and its negative Asian implications in this Covid-19 climate. Sigmund Freud (The Uncanny, 1919) spoke about using repressed impulses to turn the ordinary into an uncanny threat, to deal with the unfamiliar. Donald Trump’s (US President) repeated politicisation of the pandemic as “the Chinese virus” and the hostilities towards Asian communities, resonate a western belief that Asian atmospheres are ‘strange’ and ‘defective’—hence threatening white bodies.

The pervasiveness of fear unleashes this uncanny skeleton. Ironically, this protagonist offers the viewer some Chinese tea as a gesture of friendship. Materials e.g. oolong tea leaves and incense, once culturally and geographically unique, fuse with the paint to emit strange smells—deliberate masking their origins from Asian shops within Australian locality. This references the presence and integration of Chinese culture within multicultural Australia; questions the marginalisation, driven by manipulation, hate, and ignorance.

The painting was a finalist in the 2020 Incinerator Prize: Art For Social Change (Victoria).