On 16 June 16, I visited Pulau Bidong, an island that my father and several thousands of Vietnamese refugees had lived on during the Vietnamese refugee crisis during and following the War. The journey took three days, with flights to Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Terengganu, and then a chartered ferry to Bidong. I was able to make this trip happen thanks to Centre A and its former Director, Henry Heng Lu, who invited me to conduct a research trip.
The island is indeed a saddening place however when I was there I didn’t feel this sadness. Rather, as an artist, I found Bidong to be exciting and edifying. It filled empty boxes in my understanding of self and exposed me to many materials and textures that convey history.
