Carving Identity: Exploring Chinese Heritage through Wood Prints

Carving Big — Wood Carving Methodology passed down through Generations - Carved on Cypress Macrocarpa

Print Small — Wood Block Printing - Red and green ink on Cypress Macrocarpa

Wood carving as a methodology is passed down from grandfather to father to author. Using wood carving and translating it to Chinese wood printing in the design process was to define an architectural practice and form a sense of identity. It questions whether wood carvings can shape the architectural language of a second-generation Chinese home.

The drawings focus on wood carvings and prints that explore the concept of home and belonging for a second-generation Chinese immigrant. They explore speculative elements and events rather than showing an entire structure. Contrary to what one might expect, the drawings focus on something other than constructing a home but on the personal items that make a home.

Wood Carving to Printing Process — Process of Wood Block Carving to Wood Block Printing

Metaphorical Space Garden — Metaphorical Space of Belonging Series - Wood block print each 100mm x 100mm

Collage Big — The Layers of the Wall - Digital collage of garden print and site

Collage Small — Opening up the Wall - Digital collage of garden print and site

Etching Garden — Documenting the Vegetables in the Garden - Etching print each 100mm x 100mm

Etching Wood Workshop — Documenting the Wood Workshop - Etching print each 100mm x 130mm

Etching and collaging are secondary methodologies to enhance the expression of a lived experience within the wood carving. The intricate detailing of the garden, vegetables, daily life, and the site's textures are expressed through etching, while collaging conveys visual memories of Chinese heritage. It brings forward an experience that is lived through architecture and adds to the narrative of a home of a second generation.