Interview with Mei Yee
Photographing her way through Chinatown and enjoying the Canberra to Melbourne transition
Words by Sammy Wu
Artwork by Mei Yee Chin
I meet Mei Yee way too early on a Friday at Mr Tulk, a HOISZN-favourite cafe. It takes some time to set up the recording, and just as we have, our coffees arrive:
SAMMI: Sorry— ah, thank you!
MEI YEE: Thank you!
SAMMI: OK, um (laughing) anyway—good morning!
MEI YEE: Hello!
Some more laughter.
SAMMI: Thank you for being here so bright and early, it’s so nice to finally meet you. To start, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and the kind of art you create?
MEI YEE: My name is Mei Yee, I’m currently working as a data analyst in the Victoria Public Service. I actually just moved to Melbourne from Canberra around 9 months ago! I was born in Kuala Lumpur, and then from Malaysia I moved to Adelaide with my family, and finished high school there.
I spent some time working in Canberra but wanted a change of pace. Everyone’s moving to Melbourne nowadays! There seems to be a lot happening—more activities, more events, and even just so much more energy. HOISZN is part of that!
Artwork by Mei Yee Chin
SAMMI: Oooh, yes! Although we’ve got a few on the team now in Sydney, which has been lovely. We’re trying to grow HOISZN beyond the Melbourne bubble, but I agree. It’s a blessing to have a really vibrant Arts scene here. Given that you’ve darted around the map a bit, how do you feel your immediate environment has informed your artistic perspective?
MEI YEE: Well, my main artform at the moment is photography. I guess that when I take pictures I tend to naturally gravitate towards photographing Asian people, or at least subjects with an Asian element to them. I’m always walking through Chinatown and watching the sidewalk: elders smoking cigarettes, chefs wrapping dumplings, women reapplying lipstick ... I feel really drawn to those sorts of scenes, and I think I pull from a feminine perspective as well.
Artwork by Mei Yee Chin
SAMMI: How do you think your identity may’ve shaped your life more generally, like the journey you’re on now? Would you say where you currently are aligns with what you envisioned?
MEI YEE: Honestly, I didn’t really think that much while growing up. I think I wanted to be a painter! But in the natural course of life, especially being brought up by Asian parents—you know, the ‘oh, you gotta be an engineer’ or ‘you gotta be a lawyer’... art became a hobby. I accepted that, and here we are.
