HMS Asia Reimagined @NMRN with Chat Over Chai

Chat Over Chai | HMS Asia
Rooted in heritage. Shaped by experience.

Chat Over Chai is a welcoming, inclusive community group that brings together people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. In this project, the group collectively reimagined the figurehead of HMS Asia, drawing on personal stories of migration, motherhood, strength, and shared traditions.

The ship’s name, HMS Asia, held layered meaning for the group resonating with ancestral ties, colonial histories, and everyday rituals. One connection stood out in particular: tea. The group reflected on tea as a cultural symbol with global roots—linked to trade, travel, and home. Tea is also central to their group identity, captured in their name Chat Over Chai, and it became a guiding theme in their creative response and their involvement in Queen Charlotte’s Tea Party.

“Tea brings people together. That’s what we do too—it’s our way of sharing, listening, and celebrating each other.”

Their work recreated the figurehead not as a symbol of conquest, but of care, cultural knowledge, and quiet feminine power. Using sari fabrics, henna-inspired patterns, domestic textiles, and layered storytelling, they transformed the figurehead of HMS Asia, originally male, into a sculptural feminine form rooted in collective experience and dignity.

The visual design is rich with symbolism. The turban references the original carved figurehead, retaining a sense of continuity and honour. A teapot incorporated into the piece evokes both hospitality and the essence of Chat Over Chai. The figurehead’s back is patterned with a motif formed from one half of the original moustache, subtly reworking masculinity into a new narrative. Eyes, borrowed from the original ship design, intended to guide the vessel safely, are reinterpreted as protective, all-seeing, and quietly powerful.

Alongside their visual piece, the group also wrote a collective poem, threading together reflections on identity, strength, and belonging. This will accompany their work in a live catwalk performance at the Figurehead Gallery at the National Museum of the Royal Navy. During the event, a member of the group will wear their sculptural figurehead, embodying its transformation and proudly carrying the shared voices of the group.

Their final installation is a celebration of connection, inclusion, and friendship of a contemporary figurehead shaped not by force, but by hospitality, dialogue, and legacy, one shared cup at a time.