WHY PARTY RING?

‘Party Ring’ refers to iced ring biscuits most famously produced by the Fox's Biscuits factory.

I watched and loved the film Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) several months before my exhibition. The film uses the “bagel” as an absurd red herring to express the experience of a Chinese immigrant family in the United States. The iconic line "Sucked into a bagel" stuck in my head, making me reflect on how my life had been "sucked into" ring-shaped things in the UK. Party Ring biscuits were the best equivalent I could think of. I liked how they were seen as working-class snacks—and the factory producing them was just a few miles away from the Art House.

While preparing for this exhibition, I was transitioning from seeing myself as a migrant seeking temporary residence to identifying as an immigrant aiming for long-term settlement. This shift meant a change in mindset regarding how I wanted to live my life and build my career in the UK. I started feeling a stronger need to form connections with people and animals (like Sam) in the UK, as well as setting up a sustainable long-term career path here.

Completing this exhibition significantly boosted my confidence—not only as an artist continuing after my BA and MA degrees but also as an immigrant putting down roots in a foreign land.

PHOTOS CREDIT TO EMILY RYALLS AND NIAMH DONNELLY