The Stoat and the Serpent Queen: new narratives of migration and transformation

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Background
Autoethnography is a qualitative research methodology notable for foregrounding the researcher's subjectivity. Heewon Chang proposed autoethnography for the study of ethnic identity, and subsequent scholars, such as Laurie Eldridge and Laurie Chaplin, have further expanded the methodology to include visual autoethnography, which incorporates imagery along with written analysis. Further distinctions include analytical and evocative autoethnography. Andrew F. Herrmann writes, "Our identities and identifications with popular culture artifacts assist in our creation of self. Our identities and pop culture have a long-term recursive relationship", opening up the possibility of incorporating visual ephemera within autoethnographic artefacts.

Contribution
The Stoat and the Serpent Queen contributes an evocative autoethnographic examination of my cultural heritage as the Australian-born daughter of post-WWII Lithuanian refugees, utilising recycled print ephemera, without the need for text. The visual narratives allude to ongoing trans-national migrations that not only impact an individual’s identity but also continually adjust a country’s cultural make-up. The reconfigured motifs from both the northern and southern hemispheres challenge the notion of static national or cultural identity, rather presenting these in a state of flux and open to re-negotiation.

Significance
IMPACT – International Multi-disciplinary Printmaking, Artists, Concepts and Techniques – is one of the largest professional conferences dedicated specifically to printmaking. This biannual event was first held in 1999 by The Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of England, with a new international city playing host every two years. IMPACT 11 was the largest international printmaking conference ever staged in Hong Kong, this year showcasing artist books, attracting leading proponents and innovators of the medium.