Joshua Lue Chee Kong

Red Gate Artist Residency

In 2014 I was selected to be apart of the artist residency program at Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, China. I spent the months of January and February 2015, in Beijing, exploring the cityscape, visiting various art galleries and meeting fellow artists. 

Flag of my Mother's Land

This flag pays tribute to the work of fellow Trinidadian artist Carlisle Chang who was a part of the Independence Committee that created the design for the flag when Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence from Britain. It gives me great pride that another Trinidadian of Chinese ancestry created this iconic emblem. This flag is also a symbol for the Chinese diaspora who came before me in the late 19th century to work on the estates under the British colony and have since made Trinidad and Tobago their home.

What is this place called home? Is it the place where one was born and grew up or is it a place where a billion of look likes walk around? This flag represents my roots and also my inner conflict of belonging. This feeling of disconnection was particularly strong during my artist residency at Red Gate Gallery in Beijing.  I was a stranger in my mother’s land where I looked Chinese but did not felt Chinese because I was unfamiliar with the language and to the culture.

This flag was stitched in China during my time in Beijing. It comprises of found materials that were around my studio, from a street banner that was hung on the sidewalk of the main street to discarded clothing. All the materials were specially selected because it represented my notion about China from the Chinese characters on the red banner and the oriental patterns of the cloth.

In the end, I just wanted to say even though my bloodline came from China, I would always be a Trinbagonian no matter what.