Olivia Koh is an artist and researcher working in moving-image production. She considers how personal migration histories are expressed and performed through the moving image; videos that mediate new relationships to places, memory and forms of storytelling. Koh holds a Master’s degree (Research) from the School of Art, RMIT University (2023). Recent exhibitions include ‘Island Shapes 岛屿形状’ on Runway Journal, ‘Minyak Sawit Keluarga (Palm Oil Family)’ with Hyphenated Projects & ACMI (2023), ‘Artist Film Program’ at Melbourne Now, NGVA (2023). Olivia is a Teaching Associate at Monash University and RMIT University.

Shining 顯影

During this fellowship Olivia Koh will produce an intertextual moving image work that explores twentieth century diaspora stories in East and South East Asian regions. Shining 顯影 takes the format and pages of a community published xerox magazine as inspiration for a new moving image work; drawing on articles, advertisements and gossip tabloids from this publication, the migration history of the artists' paternal family and fictional characters. Drawing on local and international networks, a collection of archival and newly shot footage, using techniques of collage, montage and animation, letters, photos and documents are interspersed throughout this video work in Mandarin, Hokkien, Bahasa Melayu/Indonesia and English language. The research will engage with the history of xerox publications, including how the photocopier replaced or superseded previous technologies, and how this technology affected and increased access to grassroots and community publishing.