Ronen Jafari
“On Power and Heritage in Alyssa Powell-Ascura: Firstborn”

On a warm, sunny Saturday in April, Alyssa Powell-Ascura and I had a conversation about her work Firstborn. Showing in the West Space Window (our micro-project space), this video essay is a deeply personal, multidimensional exploration of familial and societal expectations placed on the eldest child. Through Firstborn, Alyssa reflects on the often unspoken pressures of responsibility, especially for women, and how the role of the eldest child persists, or shifts, across generations and cultural contexts.

Alyssa practices within the intersections of food, culture and community, considering the ways personal history can intersect with broader societal concerns. With Firstborn, she creates a space for shared experience and reflection, inviting us to consider the way power structures are inherited, resisted, and transformed.

During our conversation, several members of the Filipino diaspora engaged with Alyssa around what it means to be a firstborn. In what became a wholesome, vulnerable moment, they shared personal stories and the ways they feel about growing up as the eldest and a second culture kid in Australia. Both the authenticity of the work and the discussion we were having allowed audience members to open up with one another.

The process behind Firstborn involved extensive research and intimate conversations with family and community members. The video essay includes many of these interviews, and reveals both the challenges of disclosure and the healing that comes with shared understanding. Alyssa sees the work as an ongoing series which will evolve to include more voices, and hopefully continue to resonate with audiences beyond this iteration at West Space.

"Firstborn is about connection,” the artist says, “it's about the way responsibilities and identities are shaped by place, family, and history.” In this way, Alyssa Powell-Ascura's Firstborn isn’t just an artwork — it’s a conversation that continues to grow.

Two figures are standing and smiling , one in a black t-shirt pulling a peace sign and wearing a cap. To their right the other figure wears a pink shirt and denim skirt holding both hands up toward their cheeks, smiling. They are in front of a tall, narrow window with a screen that projects lines of text. Above the screen there is adhesive text vinyl that says 'firstborn' in a harsher font. You can only see the figures from the knees upward.
Alyssa Powell-Ascura and Ronen Jafari, West Space Window, 2025. Photography by Janelle Low.

Firstborn was commissioned for the West Space Window, 8 March → 16 April 2025. Supported by the City of Yarra through their Annual Grants Program.

Ronen Jafari is an artist with a focus on sustainability through culinary practices. He has been Administrator at West Space since early 2023, and with a background in business and finance Ronen also works across Liquid Architecture and TBC Gallery. In 2023, Ronen self-published a cookbook offering ways to integrate plant-based cooking into a busy, low-budget share house kitchen.