Image: Alyssa Powell-Ascura, Kain Tayo, 2023-24, photo: Louis Bullock
June 3 - August 23, 2024
Opening event: Friday June 7, 5:30-7:30pm
The Exhibition Space, 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta
Free entry, all welcome
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You can find Halo-halo in The Mill’s Gallery II, located at 154 Angas St, Kaurna Yarta (Adelaide).
Gallery II is open Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm.
Accessibility
The Mill has two entrances, the main entrance on the corner of Angas and Gunson Street and an accessible entrance further down Angas Street.
Both doors are locked from the outside, there is a doorbell on the main door that will alert The Mill team. They will meet you at the accessible entrance to welcome you into the building.
The Mill has concrete flooring throughout with no internal steps and a disability toilet on site.
Read more in-depth information on our accessibility web page.
The Mill is excited to present Halo-halo, a new exhibition by Alyssa Powell-Ascura developed through the Delima Residency in Rimbun Dahan, Malaysia, and at The Mill. Alyssa explores her Filipino heritage and her experience of undertaking the residency in Malaysia through video, installation, photography and personal essays. Her work touches on multi-sensory experiences, bringing audiences into the act of kamayan- a traditional Filipino method of eating with bare hands. She invites audiences to immerse and participate within her installation environment. Photographs evoke the lush, humid environment at Rimbun Dahan and create a conversation between Alyssa’s experience in Malaysia, her ancestral home in the Filipines and growing up here in ‘Australia’.
Halo-halo is presented in cooperation with the Mahmood Martin Foundation and with support from Creative Australia.
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Halo-halo (loose translation mix-mix or mixed) is the name of a popular Filipino shaved ice dessert made by layering a concoction of various ingredients. Each layer of different traditional toppings can be eaten one by one, or usually mixed, eventually combining into a sweetened dessert.
As an emerging multi-hyphenate artist, my first major solo exhibition at The Mill shows my investigation of cultures and the intersections I find myself in as an Asian Australian; a halo-halo of identities, the overarching theme of the exhibition.
Through the lens of food, family and culture, the audience is welcomed to a seat at the table, weaving together threads of tradition, memory, and contemporary discourse into a rich tapestry of multi-sensory experiences. Much like halo-halo, the exhibition showcases diverse works that are experimental in nature that you can consume on its own — and then all together, creating a mouthful of complementing ideas.
Some of the works showcased in “Halo-Halo” draw inspiration from living indigenous practices, for example, the act of kamayan seen in the video work Kain Tayo, employ the method of eating food with your hands, where communal feasting becomes a metaphor for shared experiences and collective consideration.
Central to my artistic vision is the conscious incorporation of repurposed or found items. Everyday items common in Filipino households, such as the ubiquitous kumot or blanket, serve as anchors, becoming symbols of resilience and adaptation; ultimately interrogating the assignment of value of these otherwise ordinary items when shown in a gallery setting.
During the Malaysian part of my Delima Residency, I engaged directly with community members, witnessed rural rituals, and embarked on a personal journey. This immersive experience deepened my connection to my Filipino lineage, shaping the spiritual dimension of my artistic practice.
Halo-halo is more than an exhibition — it is a celebration of the fifth largest migrant community in Australia whose ties to Indigenous Australia transcend pre-colonial times. It is an extension of myself, my unapologetic love letter to my Filipino ancestry and Australian upbringing.
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A self titled “slashie”, Alyssa Powell-Ascura is a multi-hyphenated creative. Proud to have grown up in Bundjalung country in a Filipino-Italian-Australian household, she has a background that has given her an interesting, layered perspective on the world.
Alyssa works across a variety of artistic mediums including: writing, conceptual art, immersive installation, traditional and mixed digital media, just to name a few.
Her personal belief in the interconnected relationship of humans to nature drives her to pursue advocating better care of ourselves and our Earth. A finalist of the inaugural SA Environment Awards 2023, she is nominated for her environmental advocacy and using her platform as an emerging creative to promote sustainability and inspire young people.
Motivated to bridge a deeper understanding and connection of Indigenous Philippines and pre colonial Indigenous Australia, Alyssa aims to be actively involved in the intersections she is a part of.
Her creative work has been featured in a variety of local and international publications such as: Local Brown Baby (US), Kindling and Sage magazine (AU), Blank Street Press (AU) and The Philippine Times (AU). She has been published in The Entree.Pinays' anthology "The Calamansi Story: Filipino Migrants in Australia".
If she’s not talking to the local Aunties and writing about food and culture, she can be found by the beach patting puppies who stop by to say hello.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
The Delima Residency is presented in cooperation with the Mahmood Martin Foundation.