Heavenly Bodies Asia-Australia Arts Centre
181-187 Hay Street
Sydney Australia 2000
Exhibition dates:
6 February – 1 March 2008
Floortalk:
Saturday 9 February at 2pm at the Asia-Australia Arts Centre.
==> Free event
==> Free event
Heavenly Bodies brings together three contemporary Chinese-Australian artists: suzan liu, Pamela Mei-Leng See and Greg leong. Heavenly Bodies explores very personal experiences of being Chinese in Australia. Central to these artist's explorations are shifting notions of belonging, desire and the cultural effects of tradition and everyday contemporary life. The beginning of the lunar new year is a time for celebration and renewal; the question of how we see ourselves, as individuals and also as part of a group or a community is important. These artists ask us to consider the experience of being Chinese in Australia, both in an historical and contemporary context.
Suzan Liu is a sydney based artist and has exhibited in artist-run spaces throughout sydney. For 'Heavenly Bodies' she has created two large-scale clouds which physically disrupt the architectural space of the gallery. Liu's clouds are inspired in part by the whimsical cloud forms found in Chinese traditional painting. Using foam and pillow stuffing and incorporating digital video projections, her laden clouds promise the possibilities of fantasy and new horizons.
Pamela Mei-Leng See is a young Brisbane based artist. In 2007 she was artist in residence at the Pickled Art Centre, a foundry in Beijing. She has been exhibited in group exhibitions at the state library of Queensland; Queensland university of technology Art Museum and the Museum of Brisbane. In the tradition of the nian hua calendar posters her work in 'Heavenly Bodies' has been specifically editioned for Chinese new year. See invites visitors to continue the exhibition in their own environs by taking home one of the thousand papercuts she has had created. Her work employs the technique of Chinese paper cutting to investigate attitudes towards material renewal and economic prosperity.
Greg Leong's work questions the origins of Australian identity and authenticity. Leong's garments are a sewn hybrid of both Australian and Chinese iconography whilst his digital prints laced with sordid beauty simultaneously reveal and play with the complexities of being both gay and Asian within the Australian imagination. Leong's works address the idea of 'putting on', 'dressing up' and the complex metamorphoses involving impossible changes of gender, sexuality and race and culture. Leong lives in Launceston, Tasmania. His work has been widely exhibited, including at the Museum and Art Gallery of the northern territory; Ten days on the island Festival, Tasmania; Queen victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Tasmania; Hong Kong Arts Festival, Hong Kong; Insitute of Modern Art, Brisbane. His work is included in both state and national collections throughout Australia including the Art Gallery of south Australia, National Gallery of Australia, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
HEAVENLY BODIES is an Umbrella Event of the 2008 City of Sydney Chinese New Year Festival
http://www.sydneychinesenewyear.com.au/
http://www.sydneychinesenewyear.com.au/
