I was reminded with all the stories around the Indo-Pacific and naval activities of some artworks from my 1992 solo exhibition Dualities. I was 24 and they have that graphic style from the era as I was doing graphic design back then before I discovered paint and canvas. It is the same theme, starting with dry pastel on paper in very vivid colours (1). All titled the same, Ship of Fools. This first image was actually the last incarnation. I started off with some pen and ink cross hatch drawings (3), the theme then evolved into an etching/aquatint on cotton rag (2).

People’s stories inspire my art. Aisya Zaharin is a PhD researcher on ‘Navigating Asian values and media responsibility’ at the University of Queensland. She works across the fields of political science, history and decolonisation to LGBTQI+ & Islam. She's also a Malaysian trans Muslim woman and Australian citizen with fascinating stories to tell with passion, grit, humour and intelligence. We recorded this outside so be prepared for some birds.

It came as a shock to many in my Australian multicultural network that not only was I born in England but I have identified with it throughout my entire life. It has shared a special place with my Indian and Chinese heritage of my parents, my connection to their Singaporean and Malaysian roots and formed my understanding of the flaws and pain caused by British colonialism… I have always been inspired by my father who transformed his experiences of colonialism through his deep faith,…