Emma Yee, aged 5, playing behind the countertop at her takeaway home in Lancashire, 2004.
The Complexities of Invisible Boundaries within a British-Chinese Takeaway Home.
Home is commonplace word and concept that can be loaded with meaning. The notion of what is home reflects what we, as a society, believe the home should be – a safe haven and a private space. The project focusses on the complexity of invisible boundaries that exist between the private and public spaces in a takeaway business home and how that home shapes cultural identity for the British-Chinese children in the UK.
As a British-born Chinese, my family dwelling and experience in a takeaway business juxtapose the private and public spaces with added layers of cultural complexity. One challenge that arises from the takeaway space results from the intrusion of British culture from the public space into what should otherwise be a Chinese-dominated private space that leads to an uneasy coexistence - where neither one nor the other are more dominant. With the complex integration of material culture and cultural values within the domestic setting, British-Chinese children are often left questioning their identity within their community, where a sense of otherness may be formed.
Takeaway Kids: Growing up in a takeaway as British-Chinese children with Chris Mak
Emma Yee and British-Chinese podcaster Chris Mak (also known as CrazyBritAsian) sit down to discuss their childhoods growing up in a takeaway business home. Chris Mak is a British-Chinese podcaster documenting the nuances of the British East Asian experience not just in the UK but beyond. Together, they explored the themes of cultural identity and how the spaces within the takeaway home shaped their work ethic as adults.
Instagram: @crazybritasian
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/crazybritasian
Duration: 34:31
Home is commonplace word and concept that can be loaded with meaning. The notion of what is home reflects what we, as a society, believe the home should be – a safe haven and a private space. The project focusses on the complexity of invisible boundaries that exist between the private and public spaces in a takeaway business home and how that home shapes cultural identity for the British-Chinese children in the UK.
As a British-born Chinese, my family dwelling and experience in a takeaway business juxtapose the private and public spaces with added layers of cultural complexity. One challenge that arises from the takeaway space results from the intrusion of British culture from the public space into what should otherwise be a Chinese-dominated private space that leads to an uneasy coexistence - where neither one nor the other are more dominant. With the complex integration of material culture and cultural values within the domestic setting, British-Chinese children are often left questioning their identity within their community, where a sense of otherness may be formed.
Takeaway Kids: Growing up in a takeaway as British-Chinese children with Chris Mak
Emma Yee and British-Chinese podcaster Chris Mak (also known as CrazyBritAsian) sit down to discuss their childhoods growing up in a takeaway business home. Chris Mak is a British-Chinese podcaster documenting the nuances of the British East Asian experience not just in the UK but beyond. Together, they explored the themes of cultural identity and how the spaces within the takeaway home shaped their work ethic as adults.
Instagram: @crazybritasian
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/crazybritasian
Duration: 34:31