From Courgettes to Zucchinis

From Courgettes to Zucchinis inspired by Becca's story, 2024
Ceramics and mixed media
$22,000

For Becca’s story, Vipoo created a figurine featuring the sun and sky on the back. At the front, one hand holds barbecue tongs while the other holds a bottle of beer, depicting a sunny day barbecue in the park. The head is an esky with a courgette lip. On top of the esky is Becca’s broken bowl, within which is a pile of little dumplings topped by a golden chicken. One leg of the figurine is decorated with a kangaroo motif, Australia’s national animal, and the other with a lion motif, the UK’s national animal, together telling the story of Becca’s journey.

BECCA'S STORY

I have lived in Newcastle (NSW) for the last 12 years. It’s a small town compared to London (UK) where I was born and lived as a child. I married an Australian in England and moved here with him in 2011. To get my visa we had to provide evidence that we'd lived together for every three months for four years, which is a lot of paperwork, along with the health test, police checks etc. But then the visa didn't come through in time, so I arrived with a holiday visa, left the country (to New Zealand), and then came back to Australia for the permanent residency visa to kick in. A year after arriving here, we broke up and I stayed. About six years later, I became a citizen. It cost a lot of money and there was lots of waiting around and uncertainty.

What did you feel about moving to Australia?

Newcastle is relaxed with lots of space and because the houses are spread out, it’s very car-centric and not pedestrian-friendly. At first it felt sparse and lonely. In London, where the population is denser and more transient, there was always newness as people came and went. Although Australians are friendly, I felt like I wasn't needed which made me feel lonely.

Small things would remind me that I was far from home, like at the supermarket check-out looking for courgette under C, then realising in Australia it’s called zucchini. Even though I spoke the language, I felt that I didn’t really belong here. I found it tiring to go shopping as I had to make lots of decisions about which bread or milk or cheese I wanted to buy. I can only imagine how much harder it is for those who didn’t speak English. I now understand why immigration is such an emotional journey.

My most challenging time here was during COVID as my aunt died and I was not able to be there. The permanence of choosing to live on the other side of the world makes you think about your choices. Now I have three boys and my family come for visits and spend quality time with them, but then the rest of the year, they don't see each other.

I still feel I’m between here and somewhere else, because when I go back to England, I don't feel settled there either. In some ways it’s liberating, because I'll be at ‘home’ wherever I am; I'll make my own feelings of connection.

At the end of 2023 we moved to a new house next to the bush, and once again I feel like I don't know the environment I am in. I’m getting to know the birds and the trees.

What advice would you give to someone moving to Australia?

Australia is a very long way away from everything else. I think back to people that still live in the same street where I grew up, and there’s something beautiful about having that continuing connection to the place you were born. But I don't think that was for me, I always needed some kind of adventure.

Australia is an amazing place to live. It's very safe and calm here with lots of beaches and beauty. The culture has less depth than other places and everything feels young and new. I'm pleased though that my kids get to grow up here. Life is pretty good.

What Australian culture do you love?

The sun is out, the skies are blue, the people are nice, and you can live a good life. The best things in Australia are free – the beaches, the parks and the outdoors. There's a kind of beauty and safety in how separate Australia can feel from the world. It is nice to be in a place where you don't have to feel like everything going on in the world is on your plate and it's affecting you. It’s a privilege.

I laugh at how you take an esky to barbecues. Everything must be on ice all the time; there is an obsession with ice! I love kids’ parties in the park and sausage sizzles at Bunnings.

OBJECT

My family is Jewish so on Friday nights, at my grandparents’ home, we would have chicken soup with little dumplings in these soup bowls and using our finest crockery. These awkward, funny but delicate bowls are a strong childhood memory. The elegance and the design were a part of how I remember my grandparents – two architects, the heads of our family, the providers of a sense of history and style.

When my grandparents died, I inherited a set of four bowls. When I moved here 12 years ago, they came with me but with kids it’s hard. All that is left now are two broken bowls which live in a drawer. After many decades in use, I’m sad that they broke on my watch. For me, they speak of the connection to family and those Friday night dinners … just being there was enough. While I am not religious, I've carried the tradition on and so we always have our meals at the table using our finest crockery; we like using the beautiful things.

It's a lovely opportunity to not have to let it go completely, but to let the bowls be transformed into something else, so the memory can live on.

Image top: Vipoo Srivilasa, From Courgettes to Zucchinis, 2024 Photo: Simon Strong