I am Pui Pui (bui3 bui3, 貝貝), a Naarm-based ethnographer, visual artist, zine-maker, and writer from Hong Kong.
My practice explores (de)colonial expressions through “cute aesthetics,” often incorporating popular icons such as Sanrio and Pokémon characters. By juxtaposing these beloved figures with collages of imagery celebrating exoticized “Asian” identity——both within the diaspora and among non-Asians——I interrogate themes of Orientalism and self-Orientalism.
I also tell stories through the Tamakiki People——a mythical race I created. These half-fish creatures once called Tamakikistan home, a secret island hidden in the far South, where magical water lilies bloomed in abundance. But Tamakikistan is no longer a place of refuge, and now the Tamakiki people are scattered, each journeying far and wide in search of a new home.
Microsoft Paint, a tool often dismissed as “unprofessional,” serves as my primary medium. Its nostalgic significance from my childhood allows me to imbue my work with warmth, rawness, and a sense of suspended time.
Hope you enjoy my work!
