This installation features 23 handmade, life-size garden tools that resemble artifacts from old market garden sites. It was inspired by the Ng King Brothers Chinese Market Garden, which was established by my father’s ancestral clan in 1921 in Allenton, Ashburton. At its peak, the garden became one of the largest in the South Island, supplying up to 70% of the region's produce. My grandfather, Ng Kew, lived and worked there in the early 1940s, and at one point, the settlement housed as many as eighty people.

My ancestors worked the land both in China and Aotearoa, bringing with them their skills and knowledge. While this work is inspired by the Ashburton garden they established, it also acknowledges that my ancestors’ connection to the land began long before their arrival in Aotearoa. These tools also symbolise the bones of my ancestors.

The site of the Ng King Brothers Chinese Market Garden settlement is now recognised by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga as a place of special cultural and historical significance.

This artwork will be on display at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū from November 2025.