Echoes Through Time

Bev Moon & Rozana Lee

3 - 25 October 2025

Opening Friday 3 October, 5-7pm, all welcome.

Bev Moon and Rozana Lee unite for a dynamic exhibition that delves into personal histories and intergenerational connections. Both artists share a unique link through their fathers, each of whom ran a shop that anchored them within their communities.

Bev’s father Ng Sik Kwun worked gruelling 19-hour days for eight years, holding down two full-time jobs in laundries—by day and by night—to save enough to purchase a fish and chip business in Pōneke Wellington. His shop thrived, and for 32 years, fish and chips from her father’s shop became a Friday night ritual for the community.

Rozana’s father, Karimun, co-owned a textile shophouse in Aceh, Indonesia, with his father. The art of textiles—rich in patterns and vivid colours—has always been integral to Rozana’s upbringing. While she was living in Singapore, shortly after the birth of her first child, the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami destroyed her family's shophouse in Aceh.

Rozana’s Chinese-Indonesian heritage, embedded with the lived-experience of migration, has inspired her work, which explores cross-cultural mobility and connections through patterns and symbols drawn from the traditions of Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Pacific. Her art reflects how culture evolves—not solely from the traditions of one community, but also through interactions with others. This perspective mirrors her own experiences with prejudice and the cultural exchanges found in historic trading ports.

Bev’s practice honours the courage and endurance of her ancestors while reflecting on the cultural expectations that shaped her upbringing. Her work draws on the experiences of early Chinese settlers in Aotearoa New Zealand, capturing both their struggles and their aspirations. Through her art, she carries forward the taonga—the knowledge, values, and skills passed down through generations—continuing her family's legacy and giving visual form to stories often left untold.