Betty Han

“Carving Identity” joins a wood carving method and site to reflect on second-generation Chinese identity. Transforming wood carvings into wood prints alleviates the heaviness of cultural disconnection and feelings of not belonging, evolving into a joyous exploration of Chinese heritage. Wood carving pays tribute to the continued transmission throughout the generations of its practice. It raises the question of whether wood carvings can shape the architectural language of a second-generation Chinese home.

It represents a personal engagement with the diasporic land and home of a second-generation immigrant of a Chinese family on Waiheke Island, New Zealand. The site embodies a fusion of Chinese and New Zealand cultures, where Chinese immigrant techniques and methods are applied to the land, resulting in a unique cultural hybridisation of the landscape.

Guided by the reinterpreted theory of the ‘Third space’ to the ‘Third Home,’ it results in a series of woodblock prints that reflect identity through the exploration of heritage and diasporic land. It uses elements of architectural representation to express Chinese culture, traditions, gardening, everyday life, and relationships to the land. The harmonious combination of wood carving, etching, photography, gridding, and collaging techniques produces textures, reliefs, layout, and colours, adding a sense of joy and vibrancy to the narratives of Chinese heritage.

This thesis proposes a new way of building on a personally attached site using a generative grid system. It emphasises how wood carving and printmaking shape the home and identity of a second-generation immigrant and defines an architectural practice. “Carving Identity” expresses carving out the land to resurface and celebrate Chinese heritage, molding a distinct and authentic sense of self and home.