Nadia Cheung

creative portfolio & blog

  • Is Sicily worth the visit?

    Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, has a rich history, culture, and cuisine. The island is known for its beautiful landscapes, ancient ruins, and influences from many civilisations. Thanks to The Godfather and the recent success of White Lotus, more people are discovering the island’s highlights.

    Disclaimer: as this trip was made over winter, this won’t include the typical sun, sea and sand experiences but rather, what was possible to do during a colder climate.

    Catania

    Catania is paved with black lava rock from it’s local volcano. I have to admit that I was quite obsessed with Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano, and the view of her can be seen in the backdrop when facing north of Catania on a clear day.

    Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to hike Mount Etna this winter because of some mishaps with planning the trip to try and save a bit of money. It’s no fun to hike in the cold when you aren’t prepared and as Sicily is Italy, some things are just unfortunately priced the way that they are. Tour buses are possible, but they vary on agenda, and booking a smaller trip with a jeep can cost around 75€ or more per person.

    Regardless, it wouldn’t have been possible to reach the top of the volcano in January for safety reasons, so I would definitely consider making a trip up Mount Etna’s summit for a summer vacation instead.

    There is a lot happening in Catania to enjoy the food and culture. The local fish market is a must-see. Fresh prawns, oysters, calamari and so many other delicacies are grilled right in front of you. And apparently, it’s the main highlight for tourists in the city.

    Nevertheless, the favourite place to eat in Catania was the local pizza place, Sicilia Bedda. After a full day of adventure, you just want to get good food that’s straight-forward to get and go home to rest.

    As Catania was our main base for this trip, we mainly explored the island using the regional bus service to get to neighbouring towns. The travel times are relatively accurate, of course you would still want to arrive with a few minutes to spare. Travel options are easily found on Google Maps or checking the bus timetables at the local bus station.

    Syracuse

    On our second day, we took the bus from Catania to drive an hour and a half (66 kilometres) north to Syracuse. The first place we went to see was the ancient Greek theatre, Tempo di Apollo. There was a lot of free space to roam, without the visual noise of much renovating works getting in the way of its beauty.

    • Tempo di Apollo, Syracusa
    • Tempo di Apollo, Syracusa
    • Tempo di Apollo, Syracusa
    • Tempo di Apollo, Syracusa
    • Tempo di Apollo, Syracusa
    • Tempo di Apollo, Syracusa

    As Sicily had so much Greek influence, there was always at least one ancient theatre in each town we visited.

    After checking out Tempo di Apollo, it was getting close to late afternoon so we walked on down towards Isolo di Ortigia and caught a glimpse of a beautiful sunset over a clear seascape at Guardia Costiera. From here, there was much more to see: Fonte Aretusa, Castello Maniace, and many shops and restaurants situted by the sea and in-between the winding streets that lead up to a big plaza.

    We took the opportunity to sit right by the view and tried Caponata, a savoury, sweet, and sour speciality of the Mediterranean.

    Syracuse has both old ancient ruins and the highlights of modern life.

    Taormina

    By far my highlight of the trip of Sicily was Taormina, a small ancient city that has adapted to modernity. It has the best preserved ancient theatre, with a heavenly view of Mount Etna in the backdrop. Today, the theatre continues to be used as it was intended for performances.

    Shopping is better in Taormina, too. Artisanal shops selling handmade ceramics, soaps, olive oil and other signature Sicilian delicacies such as pistachio liquor and small bites to snack on are scattered all around this town. A reminder that Taormina is indeed tourist-friendly and open for business.

    Come at the right time of year, and we could have made it to Taormina’s famous film festival.

    If I had more time, I would definitely make it a priority to visit the city of Palermo, see the beautiful white sand beaches and make sure I get to the top of Mount Etna.

    So is Sicily worth the visit? Yes! The cuisine and culture is amazing and there is nothing like good Italian cooking. Although getting around can be a bit of a challenge, a car or moped would make a world of a difference. Still, without top tier mobility, there is a reason why so many famous films were shot here and the beauty of Sicily will continue to captivate anyone.

  • The rebel grandma, Frau Stern

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  • Celebrating Zine Verschenken

    A year and a half ago, I joined a zine collective founded by FLINTA* women based in Berlin. For those who don’t know, FLINTA* is a German acronym for women, lesbians, inter, non-binary, trans and agender people.

    The idea behind Zine Verschenken came from the German phrase “zu verschenken”, which means “to give away”. It’s what you’ll often find written on cardboard boxes placed on windowsills, street corners and sidewalks. In Berlin, there’s also a number of community spots in almost every neighbourhood that’s dedicated for locals to donate or find pre-loved items like books, toys and clothes.

    Back in June 2023, we participated in Berlin’s biggest art festival that is free to the public: 48 Stunden Neukölln. The festival took place over a weekend, and our venue was at a public community space. Unfortunately, having a outdoor art space while it was raining so heavily meant that we had no other choice but to postpone our event on the opening night of the festival. The next days went by pretty well and we were able to keep it as a passive space

    On 9th September 2023, we hosted an art party to celebrate one year together and 14 editions. The event took place at Open Tiny, a small space in Neukölln that welcomes creative people to host events, as long as the intention is not-for-profit.

    I learnt a lot from joining this team – from balancing creative deadlines, fundraising and collaborating with people from all walks of life. I’m really proud of how far this project has developed and I can’t wait to see us evolve.

    Read Zine Verschenken now! Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to receive the next edition in your inbox.

  • Jane by Charlotte: A deep dive into Mother-Daughter bonds

    Jane Birkin: muse, style icon, actress, singer and mother. Charlotte Gainsbourg’s directorial debut constructs a personal portrait that beautifully illustrates the intricate layers of a mother-daughter bond in a documentary film.

    It’s important to know that Jane Birkin made a documentary in 1988 with Agnès Varda when she turned 40 – a milestone birthday and its 99 minutes duration explores the types of character roles Jane didn’t get perform. A film of many layers, I wrote about this in Conversations in Jane B. par Agnès V.

    Just like Jane B. par Agnès V., Gainsbourg’s self-made documentary has many parallel themes that make it a great follow-up documentary. Filmed only just before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, Jane by Charlotte brings with it a sense of symbolic continuity of a Jane Birkin as it captures her in the final phase of her life in her 70s, living with a cancer diagnosis and reflecting on her life after suffering a number of instances of personal tragedy.

    Although we see Birkin and project her as the actress and icon, the intergenerational conversations with her daughter is completely honest and vulnerable. As the film goes on, we also witness a transformation in Gainsbourg who, was a similar age to Birkin in the first documentary by Varda. Quiet, thoughtful and concerned, she’s making sense of her role as a daughter and we see her developing some understanding of her role in her relationship with her mother. This kind of intimacy that is so natural could only be achievable with simplicity, and Gainsbourg’s limited filming equipment and DIY footage delivers this sense of anxiety of death and nostalgia juxtaposed in a time where the world was silent and stricken by a global pandemic.

    As the documentary about Jane Birkin explores conversational themes of life, death, family and tragedy – this film reveals more about Charlotte Gainsbourg. The distance between her and her mother due to living in different countries, and the looming fear of Birkin’s health drives this urgent sense of Gainsbourg needing to be close with her mother. This feeling appears during be beautiful moment where the pair enter Serge Gainsbourg’s house in Paris, compulsively left as it was by Charlotte when he passed away in 1991, because it was all that she had to remind herself of him.

    Whether you choose to watch Jane by Charlotte to see Jane Birkin’s final appearance in a film or to observe Charlotte Gainsbourg’s film debut, this documentary poetically explores the fears of an adult who tries to connect the distance between their dying mother who is prepared to say goodbye.