In the recent exhibition at the Art in the Docks Gallery, a group of artists presented One Swam Up Another Stream, curated by Curated by: YuYing Chan @yuying720 & Weiyi Margaret Liang @__________marg___.
The exhibition showcased stories of return and reclamation, drawing connections between personal and collective histories, cultural identity, and the resilience required to navigate cycles of migration, displacement, and belonging. Yu Ying Chan, known for her research into cultural representation and curatorial practice, used this exhibition to engage with the fluidity of identity, memory, and culture. Margaret Liang who has a background in fine art photography furthered her research on auto-theoretical representations and story-telling. Through their curatorial lens, they questioned normative perceptions of culture in a world increasingly defined by movement and connection. “What lies at the end of the upstream—a place of origin, or perhaps a new beginning?” The question serves as the exhibition’s central motif, with Chan and Liang’s selection of five artists from diasporic backgrounds—Divya Balivada, Igor Chekachkov, Ana Ionescu, Jingyi Li, and Anjalee Malan—and a workshop led by the Tongue Society to provide their perspectives.
The exhibition begins with Ukrainian photographer and journalist Igor Chekachkov’s 100 Days of War. This intimate photo book diary captures raw, evocative snapshots of Chekachkov’s life during wartime. The Instax images blur the line between personal memory and collective trauma, highlighting moments of adaptation, survival, and resistance. Chekachkov’s work offers a deeply human element, portraying displacement as more than a singular rupture; it is an ongoing negotiation with loss and endurance. These photographs resonate as a quiet yet powerful testament to the resilience of the displaced.
Jingyi Li’s series, The Yellow Vessel, reimagines traditional Chinese vessels through silk, confronting the colonial connotations and fetishization historically associated with such objects. Li deconstructs and reshapes these vessels into intricate forms that demand a reevaluation of their meaning. Her work challenges the historical gaze that distorts Asian identity, transforming these objects into bold statements of cultural reclamation. By turning the traditional into the contemporary, Li reclaims agency over cultural heritage and offers a powerful reassertion of identity.
Divya Balivada’s drawings deliver a visceral exploration of breaking free from societal constraints. With instinctual and rhythmic lines, she confronts and redefines the feminist stereotypes of her Indian upbringing. Her art brims with a sense of urgency and liberation, as she transcends the pressures of tradition to find a voice that is distinctly her own. Balivada’s work pulsates with an energetic movement that doesn’t merely resist the current but propels forward, embodying the transformative power of self-reclamation.
Ana Ionescu’s installation, I Trust You | Resilience, examines the structures of urban life, focusing on fences and other boundary-defining elements. By questioning their aggressive aesthetics and restrictive character, Ionescu subverts their traditional roles as symbols of division and control. Instead, she transforms these structures into spaces of reflection, encouraging viewers to reconsider the self-defense mechanisms that shape both physical and metaphorical identities. Her work adds a compelling layer to the exhibition, probing the ways we navigate the boundaries of identity and space in a constantly shifting environment.
One Swam Up Another Stream is a powerful meditation on reclaiming one’s narrative and swimming upstream to assert identity in the face of forces that seek to confine it. As the audience journeyed upstream alongside the artists, they were left to ponder whether the origin they seek is the same as they remember—or if it has been reshaped by time, memory, and experience. Each artist offered a unique perspective on this question, drawing from cultural, national, personal, and psychological frameworks. It is both a testament to resilience and a celebration of transformation.
Artworks by: Divya Balivada @divbalivad, Igor Chekachkov @chekachkov, Ana Ionescu @anaionscu, Jingyi Li @1999jingyili, Anjalee Malan @anjaleeart Workshop by: The Tongue @the_tongue_rca
Lead by Orianna Shen @oria.nnaaaaa & Tina Yuan @tinatinaxiao
