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EXPLORING HER IDENTITY THROUGH ART HAS BEEN A LIFELONG PURSUIT FOR MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST MAI NGUYÊN-LONG

- BY RACHEL WHITE

The daughter of a Vietnamese father and an Australian mother of Irish-Samoan descent, Mai Nguyên-Long was born in Tasmania but spent her formative years in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.

'I've had a challenging time developing a clear sense of belonging,' says Mai. 'It's so simplified to say I'm half-Vietnamese and half-Australian, which I am, but things are very mixed within that.'

Born in Hobart in the '70s, Mai left Australia with her family at four, living first in Papua New Guinea for five years and then the Philippines for 10, due to her father's work as an agricultural economist for a multinational aid agency. Upon returning to the country of her birth at 19, Mai enrolled in an art history degree and discovered art as a way of reconciling the complexities of her numerous identities. She went on to complete a master's degree in visual arts in the late '90s and continued to explore her heritage and complex themes of identity and belonging. It wasn't until 2015 that Mai began working with her current medium of choice.