Karangahape Road's Lim Chhour foodcourt is known for its delicious Asian food offerings; from Sichuan malatang and Malaysian satay noodles to fusion-style Japanese donut burgers and supermarket snacks. For Auckland's creative communities, the foodcourt become a place of familiarity and comfort; a place to wander in for a pre-gig meal with friends, or just to spend some time on your own. This week, artist Jefferson Chen of Goodspace is paying homage to Lim Chhour's legacy and its hardworking vendors with Vendor , a multimedia installation marking the release of his debut album, Let's Talk About Death .
From 28 September to 4 October, Chen himself will pose as a vendor at the foodcourt. His album will be the menu, he will be serving up songs as the dishes, and the 10-course group dining experience will be a start-to-end album listening party. Chen says the concept of Vendor came to him almost two years ago.
The foodcourt's proximity to creative spaces and music venues made it easy to see the paralells of hustle culture in both artmaking and food vending. "Being in the heart of Karangahape, I play shows regularly, I go to friends' shows regularly, and I like eating at Lim Chhour foodcourt. I think it's one of the few places on Karangahape where you can be in a public space but still feel alone and anonymous and lowkey, you have that choice to be like that.
"I think within the Asian Aotearoa narrative, there is a shared understanding ...
of hustle, of hard work, of commitment to .