Whitelies #11 2022

Why do we build Identities? In which instances are they expressions of passion and belonging, in which instances are they a spawn of fear? We are grateful to have had the chance to explore the theme of Identity from a great number of different voices and positions within the pages of this issue. In “Shadows in the Network” C.J. Gartillou & Tam Mei Lin consider “shadow children”, a societally marginalised people barred from national identification, and with it, employment, travel, education, healthcare. Musical legend Terry Riley shares with us the spiritual and ethical dimensions of his work and outlook. Kiko Mizuhara and Yoon Ahn discuss the particularities of being ethnically Korean and working in the cultural industries in Japan. Photographer Zhong Lin reinterprets Satoshi Kons’ animation “Perfect Blue”, a story about a youth pop idol who is attempting to shed this image for that of a serious actress. The issue is opened and closed by the deeply intimate work of Nobuyoshi Araki’s protégé Sakiko Nomura, and features further photographic works by the likes of Takashi Homma, Bennie Gay, Chan Rim, Juliette Abitbol & Edouard Sanville, and Chan Wai Kwong, to name but a few. We are also thrilled to re-print Amanda Lee Koe’s titillating Singapore-based short story “Pawn”, which charts the relationship between people from different cultural worlds, a collision also present in Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook’s work “Two Planets”, as is discussed by Sandy Yu. Last but not least, we explore expressions of cultural and individual identity in food with a statement by chef Anaïs Ca Dao van Manen; a quarantine food diary by Zoe Suen; and a personal essay on language and a sweet tooth by Elaine Tam.