Thomas C. Chung

Thomas’s artistic practice is about seeing the world through the eyes of a child – food, toys, paintings, drawings, knitting, crocheting, photography, sculpture, performance and art installations are some of the mediums or motifs he has used. At its deepest level, he is researching the childlike psyche an approach to understanding the world as an empath, exploring the world through ‘emotional landscapes’. This lifelong narrative is a conceptual fusion of artworks, divided into decade-long chapters – much like a giant storybook – mediating his interests in psychology, philosophy and contemporary aesthetics. Thomas is currently studying a Master’s degree at Cairnmillar Institute to further his practice as a psychotherapist.

Exploring Kandos as its focal point, this photographic installation is a collaboration with the artist and Kandos High School art students. The work considers a Kandos history, where labour and activity once thrived. As a nation, Australia has had a complicated past, dictated by actions that can no longer be changed. ‘I Don’t Know Where I Belong … But I Know Where I’m From’ uncovers residual thoughts in the form of a cascading curtain, linking both the history and future of this community through the words of its young people.