Summary

As part of my final year project, I hope to make a short film documentary centred around the stories of adopted Chinese diaspora in the UK. I plan to sit down for conversation with three Chinese Adoptees outside their homes, on two little chairs that I will have designed and built. I want to gossip, learn, sit and chat...recording the shared yet differing feelings of cross-cultural childhoods.

the little chairs?

In 2018, I went on a ‘finding trip’ to China with my family, visiting the orphanages and birthplaces of my sister and I. During our visit I kept seeing little chairs (see below), at first I assumed they were for children. With my background as a furniture designer, I became enamoured. After asking around, I learnt that they’re used as a way to sit in the sun and gossip, mostly in the rural areas of China. I plan to design and build two of these chairs using traditional Chinese and English furniture influences.

Low to the ground and portable, they allow conversations and observations to move throughout the streets. I've found that they level the playing field, giving a campfire-esque environment, which allows conversations to feel more intimate.

Using these chairs as a sort of set dressing, they represent the displacement of children, conversational connection, and observation of the spaces around us. This is my interpretation of a piece of culture from my birth country, re-appropriated for my own research.

I want to gossip in the sun, about the often convoluted experience of the adopted diaspora.

Who am I?

My name is Honey, and I study Product and Furniture design at Kingston University. I have strong interest in storytelling through the three-dimensional, and the intersection of design and culture. 

I was adopted from Hunan, China at 8 months old. I have always had an interest in how being an adoptee has effected and influenced my life. In 2018, I was a finalist in the Roundhouse slam with my poem “The Struggles of Being a Chinese Kid in a White Family”. In 2019, I centred a project around rocks I took from my hometown in China, and my home in London.

Through this short film, I would love to learn about other adoptees experiences.

Where will the money go?

My goal is to interview three adoptees, minimum would be one interview.

The money will be spent on:

Hiring crew

• Min: 2 crew (Camera and sound) £200 
• Goal: £600

Yilin Wong, a cinematographer and documentary style photographer, will be filming. I am currently searching for a sound technician. 

Travel costs 

Although I initially planned to interview across the UK, I will focus on London due to time restrictions for my deadlines. However, I'd love to continue the project post university.

• Min: £30
• Goal: £90

Food and drink for those involved

• Min: £50
• Goal: £150

Extra funding

Any extra funds will be spent on:

• The material costs of making the little chairs
• Allowing me to screen the film in London (It will be shown at the Kingston Graduation Show too)
• I'd like to also make an auto-ethnographic book of photos, so printing costs

How can you help?

Donating a pound or two, and sharing this fundraiser could make all the difference! Thank you to everyone in advance !

Follow this project 

I will be posting updates on my instagram @honeybirchstudio 

You can also contact me at honey.birch@gmail.com