Mikaela Lai

Yuenyeung (鴛鴦) is a collaboration between food and art, to recover a culture that was once erased. In Chinese culture, sharing food is one of the many ways in which care is shown to loved ones. Food acts as a form of communication and is an integral aspect of family and community culture. As a part of the Chinese diaspora, sharing a meal with my family is one of many ways that I get to experience culture.  My design takes the Hong Kong style diner and combines the space with an artist research space.

A project that came from a personal connection about food and family has transformed into a discovery of history, the preservation of culture, and how the future will mark its own history.  A versatile space, suitable for gatherings with family and friends, while also offering tranquillity in solitude. A collaboration between permanent dining space and temporary art space with the intention of helping those in the diaspora find our sense of belonging in a city that once tried to erase our history, to recover a culture that was once erased.