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An Interview with Sweet and Sour Words: Viv Wang, Sydney Farey, Eleanor Hsu, Chetan Kharbanda and James Yang. Edited/Compiled: Viv Wang Photographs: Abby Ching The Sweet and Sour Zine (SNS) was conceived in the middle of isolation by founder Sydney Farey. As COVID-19 spread across the world, along with it came a rise in xenophobia catalysed by the pandemic. Without everyday physical interactions and our usual support networks, people begin to lose a sense of community. That’s what inspired Sydney to post in ANU Facebook groups in search of a like-minded team to found SNS. After an overwhelming amount of submissions from the community (thank you!) and a lot of hard work from everyone on the team, Issue One of the zine was successfully launched on the 8th of August at Smith’s Alternative. What was a wet and cold day outside, could not stop the merriment and buzz of excitement that filled Smith’s that afternoon. As we are bi-monthly, sending in content for us to print is a way you can support us! Look out for Issue Two submission openings soon! Following is an interview with Sydney Farey and some responses from SNS team members discussing the zine and its significance. Viv Wang Founder Sydney Farey: About you: I consider myself a visual artist and art historian. I
work mostly in printmaking, and in ceramics more recently. I was born and raised in China, moving to Canberra when I was twelve years old. My identity is a mix between my Chinese upbringing, my American family, and my life growing up in Australia. What inspired you to found SNS? I wanted to create a space for individuals with Asian heritage in Australia to share our thoughts, experiences and creativity, and provide a supportive platform where we can come together to explore our cultures, connect and heal. It is a powerful feeling when we realise we are not alone and many of our experiences are shared with others. What has the reception been like thus far? The reception has been overwhelmingly positive! From our dedicated executive team members and contributors, to the people who share our social pages and send us encouraging messages - we have been met with nothing but support from the Canberra, and greater Australia community. It goes to show how important a platform like SNS is, especially during tumultuous times like these. Our community is growing bigger and bigger every day. On Aug 8 launch event, our FB page surpassed 600 likes, and our IG page surpassed 300 likes. Most online traction came from our Smith’s event at over 9.5k interactions. We had over 50 contributions to the first issue of the zine from all over Australia.
