An art showcase with Hakuna Natasha
Natasha Falconer, also known as Hakuna Natasha, is a Scottish-Thai artist. Amy Phung caught up with her to talk about the inspiration for her art, and to give besea.n an insight into her creative process as she talks us through five selected pieces.
Interview by Amy Phung
Amy Thanks so much for your time Natasha! So first thing, how did you start getting into art?
Natasha So I've always kind of been drawn to art - it's always been a big, big thing for me. My mum used to be worried I would choose that as a career because she could see that I was always going for it. I've done small public exhibitions here and there, and I’m starting to do more commissions too. I think now with the current climate, I’ve started to think: OK, well, I’m not just making art, which is what just looks cool, I want to do stuff that actually speaks to my experiences growing up as well; especially with all the racism that’s arisen from the pandemic, movements like Black Lives Matter. It really made me think that I should say something. I can't just be quiet about this my whole life and just be thinking, “OK, well, it's rubbish” but not say anything.
Amy I can definitely see that coming through in your art. I remember coming across it and getting really struck by your experience with these issues, plus how it must resonate with what a lot of people who are going through similar experiences, such as myself! It was such a good feeling to see it expressed in art form, I immediately felt that connectivity.
Natasha This one is actually about my mixed identity, being half Scottish, the kind of questions you get such as, “where are you really from?” But when you're mixed, people sometimes know that you're not entirely Asian. I mean, most people see me as an Asian straight off but sometimes you get people who are like, “oh, you look mixed or something... So what are you?” It just sounds ridiculous because well, I'm not a robot or an android or something that looks like a person. I am a person, don’t say, “what are you?” It's just such a really strange way of asking that question. I think for people who are more racially ambiguous, this is quite a big thing.
Amy And I can really see the obvious anger and shock coming through with that robot. It goes to show how powerful words can be. We all go through that formative stage where we are navigating our identities, it never ends really. To ask, “what are you?'“, although such a simple phrase, must have such a huge impact.
By the way, how did you teach yourself to draw, did you go to lessons?
Natasha So the furthest I went to school with art was up to about the fourth year in Scotland. I don't know where that is in English terms. It was at about 14 years old I stopped doing proper art because I didn't get along with my teacher for one. I was then forced to take maths as well. After a while I started life drawing classes but most of the time I just taught myself by watching the YouTube videos and always just kept at it.
Amy I'm the same, I was terrible at maths and I felt really pushed to do something maths-related or science-related, then of course like you, I now do illustration. Graphic design is my main job but I like to draw as well. I spent a long time in a career that wasn’t suited to me because of the pressure to do something “prestigious”. I definitely wish at an earlier age, I could have been allowed to embrace my creativity more. I think the more we see ESEAs becoming successful as artists, the more we can inspire that creativity to grow within the community. It’s such an important medium to express who we are and the unique journeys we all have as members of a diaspora. It has the ability to break down barriers.
Natasha This one is of a traditional Thai dance that you can see called Khon. It’s more modern and in my own kind of style, because I like drawing sci-fi elements too. It made me think of social distancing, imagining these traditional art forms getting replaced by technology because we're all working from home. It’s a nice way to blend my heritage with things that are going on at the current moment in time.
Amy How does your heritage tie in with your life right now?
Natasha I think I got more into exploring it as I got older. I was born in Thailand and my mum came over with my dad when I was about three-years-old. So I spoke Thai as my first language and knew how to read and write a bit.
“But then when I came over here, about 30 years ago now, my mum was told, “Don't speak to your child in Thai, otherwise she's not going to pick up English. And this is the most important language for you.”
So my mum stopped talking to me in Thai except for basic phrases here and there. I always asked her to tell me Thai folk stories or things related to Buddhism. So I did have that kind of thing growing up, also engaging with the Thai community when I could. But as I got older, I thought, I want to be able to speak my own language. I could understand bits and pieces. So I started watching a lot of Thai dramas, actually, called Lakorn. They’re so cheesy, similar to telenovelas and I'm addicted to them. I still watch them quite a lot. I watch a lot more Thai news as well. I want to speak and write to my family, and not have to rely on my mum as a translator.
Natasha I was working at a university and I had a really spicy Thai curry my mum made for me. She gave me little boxes of food, especially when I was really busy with work, she would drop off things for me to eat. When I started having lunch, most people were saying, “Oh, that smells really good,” or “That's really interesting.”
“But then one person said, “Oh, that's too distinctive to eat out here,” and was looking at me like I was eating dirt. The look on her face was just pure disgust. Another person in the room mentioned that they thought it smelt as well.”
You know, there were people there eating bacon rolls and cullen skink... I mean, that's a fish soup. It's not exactly the nicest thing. I'm not telling you to stop eating your cullen skink, don't eat your bacon roll, I don't like the smell of it. I'm not complaining. Don't complain when I bring in my food.
“My mum made it because that's how she shows her love. She's just like that. It's always food, food, food. I was raging that day.”
Amy Also, I feel like there's an added level of insult nowadays, we see Asian food getting really fashionable and people interested in so-called “exotic” ingredients, but it's being popularised by people who aren't your mother, people who are not from Thailand and may not have educated themselves on what that food represents. It’s incredibly complicated and a lot to unpack. They often have no idea of the lived experience of East and South East Asian folk and how our food forms a big part of our identity. It’s not a problem to cook and celebrate food from another culture, but it’s important to be conscious that it’s not just food, especially when you are representing that food in a public arena, it’s a huge part of who we are and how we express ourselves.
Natasha So there were some police officers who were going around my street because there was a motorbike that had just been stolen in the area. They just wanted to see if people had heard anything.
“So when I opened the door to them, without even saying hello or anything like that, the guy on the left immediately said, “So you do speak English, don't you?” And I just looked at him. Whenever someone questions me like that, I go pretty broad with my accent, almost as a kind of defence mechanism to say, yes I belong here. I sound like you. Come on.”
Luckily, the other officer who was with him looked at him as if to say, “You absolute idiot. Why did you just say that?” And as soon as I said I did, she just took over, she asked everything and they got out pretty quickly. But I think she must have had words. I think the way that you could tell she had my back on this one without saying anything, it's just one of those moments where, you know, at least someone's picked up on it. And it was just so shocking because you don't expect it, especially not on your doorstep.
Natasha Often people will say to me, “Oh that's really good English” or “That's a really good Scottish accent”. Why are they so impressed by me having a Scottish accent? I guess I am fairly broad so for a lot of people, it takes them aback. But it's weird because I've got friends who are mixed French and Scottish, for example, and no one compliments them on their Scottish accent. They take one look at me and think, “You shouldn't have a Scottish accent.”
“I know it comes from a place of thinking it's cute or funny, but it's actually a bit condescending, it's a bit othering. You're telling me I don't belong here.”
I often use my accent as a defence mechanism because when you get those targeted kind of questions, the broader I respond with my accent, the more people accept you, and are less likely to question you. Especially in Scotland, people are fairly accepting if you have a broad Scottish accent. It’s gotten more pronounced as I’ve gotten older as well. I've gone into shops before and the cashier will start speaking very slowly, very clearly. I think, “Well, I think I know why you're doing that, so I’ll exaggerate my accent even more.” The look on they get on their face! Then they start speaking to you normally after that.
Amy It’s interesting how our accents can also be weaponised, so to speak, another form of signalling which we need to use in order to be invited into a space which is actually already our home. Even as someone British-born, you’ve made me realise that I must emphasise aspects of myself too, be hyper sensitive to the environment, then code-switching in order to prove I belong. On the other hand, for ESEA folk who do not have native accents, what must they feel having to navigate a world where, if they don’t have that proximity, they feel that othering more consistently. It must be draining.
So going forward with your art, where do you want to take it? What's in store
Natasha I want to do ‘zines and get into merchandising too, such as bags and things like that. I also want to do more advocacy work. I want to get to the position where I'm creating work, not just for myself, but be in a position where I can do it for free if it's for a cause I really want to get behind. Obviously I’ll continue with commissions because of course, I need to make money, I need to do these things. But when it comes to work where I feel like I think it's an important message and I want to share with people who might not have that representation, that's the kind of stuff I want to put out there without charging or at least charging and not make a profit out of it.
“I want it to be accessible to other people who might be struggling with their identity and other issues. Progress in the past 10 years has been quite fast but we're still not quite at that level yet; but, you know, we need to keep doing it.”
We need to keep getting out there and we need to keep sharing with people, and making sure that people aren't afraid to stand up; and to talk to each other, and to be there for others as well.
Natasha Falconer is a freelance illustrator who utilises bright, psychedelic colours and a comic style with bold lines in her digital work. Influenced by pop art, Image comics, anime and retro video games, these influences are her way of illustrating her experiences growing up Scottish and Thai. In addition to microaggressions faced as a Southeast Asian growing up in Scotland, aspects of Thai culture also feature in her work. In more lighthearted pieces, fun characters, 90s nostalgia and video games feature more, with a science fiction influence, these pieces were created as a form of escapism and subtle commentary. You can find out more about her and see more of her work on Instagram