Offering reflects Cindy Huang’s research into the Tauiwi Chinese New Zealand community in Te Matau-a-Māui Hawkes Bay, both past and present, with a focus on the region’s market gardens, gardeners and grocers. Due to a notable absence of recorded accounts in local and national museums and repositories, she has primarily relied on oral histories from within the community to piece together a picture of their lives, contributions and labours.
The installation, on a circular plinth, features handcrafted incense made from sandalwood blended with dried fruit powder, along with bronze casts of citrus peels and apple cores that serve as incense holders. All of these elements are produced from fruit sourced from Onekawa Fruit Shop, a local Chinese New Zealand family business.
They are carefully arranged, evoking the forms associated with ancestral shrines—a reflection of the traditional Chinese custom of filial piety, which encompasses acts of remembrance and respect for both the living and deceased. Typically accompanied with offerings of fresh fruit, the ritual of burning incense creates a sanctified and cleansed space that bridges the past with the present, allowing one to connect with their ancestors and memories.
