Floating with A Yi by Daodao
Camberwell Art Festival, London, UK, 2025Video
Floating with A Yi is a multi-phased participatory research project that explores the intersection of food, migration, and collective memory within London’s Asian communities. The project began with a three-month field study in the Camberwell area, where the team engaged in deep dialogue with local Asian restaurant proprietors—including Vanhing, Well Mix, Noko, and Silk Road. By documenting signature tastes and personal histories, this research phase served as a foundational archive, capturing the often-overlooked narratives of migrant women and the cultural resilience embedded within their culinary practices.
The project’s research findings were then activated through a nomadic cart installation, a platform constructed from upcycled materials and neighborhood "trash". This cart functioned as an open, engaging hub that debuted at the 'Eat Around the World' food festival and later participated in the Camberwell Arts Festival. By pushing this symbolic "nomadic kitchen" into the public square, the project transformed the urban environment into a space for cultural dialogue, inviting the community to interact with the research through tangible and sensory encounters.
During the festival, through drawing workshops and storytelling sessions, participants illustrate favorite dishes from their own cultures, contributing to a "collective visual potluck" that archives the sensory and emotional dimensions of the migrant experience. Finally, the nomadic cart acts as a catalyst for shared cultural imagination, discovering unexpected resonances and connections through the universal medium of food.
Nomadic Installation, Participatory Workshop, Field Research, Cultural Identity & Migration, Sensory Memory, Food as Medium