One of Gary Lee's works.

Between two worlds

Eye forstyleon show

"It's a big thing in the West to see Chinese people as attractive, especially men," Mundine adds.

Sandra Hill, 63, a Nyungar woman from Western Australia, is also of Chinese ancestry. By combining old photographs and her paintings, she explores her family's history and the history of "Western assimilation" of Aboriginal groups.

Hill's mother was part of the "Stolen Generation", whose members were victims of the White Australia Policy. The policy came into fruition in 1901 and was progressively dismantled between 1949 and 1973.

Hill uses the fairy-tale of Cinderella to present the experiences of her mother who had assumed a "Cinderella-like persona" during her years as a domestic helper to white families.

In the meantime, the White Australia Policy reduced the number of Chinese immigrants to 12,000, according to the Melbourne-based Museum of Chinese Australian History. The number soared to 36,000 three years after the policy was officially abolished four decades ago.