Before watching George Alagiah’s programme Mixed Britannia, 2011, I had no idea the first Chinatown in London was in and around Limehouse.

This proposal for a public sculpture in the form of a giant wedding cake was made in response to an invition from the CCA Goldsmiths to make proposals for a monument.It’s dedicated to the mixed unions and families of Chinese sailors and travellers who settled in London in the 1910’s and thereafter.   

The base is a mash-up of architectural features from Chinese limestone column bases along with my own repeating worn-down motifs of dragons and phoenixes – not only symbols of unity and matrimony, but also the best creatures ever. The other decorative elements like the ribbon, string, lotus flower lamp petals, sweet wrappers are things I’ve collected from Malaysia (where my Dad grew up) and the fake flowers and bangles are from plastic-treasure-homeware + second-hand shops in Europe selling cheap goods mostly produced in East and South-East Asia.

There are many geographic-time jumps which mean that Chineseness looks n feels different in different places and “tradition” is always being reinvented and relearnt.