White Rabbit Gallery has done it again, with a multidimensional and multilevel exhibition of contemporary art that will transport you through various worlds and sensations.
You might have heard the term “big in Japan” bandied about. It usually describes Western bands who achieve success in Japan but not necessarily in other parts of the world and implies their success is possibly unverified, ironic, oddly specific, or “less than”. Making it big in an Eastern country used to be a second choice for Western rockstars. But China is now a global powerhouse, and these days companies, brands, and even nations from around the world all scramble to win the favour of Chinese consumers.
The exhibition Big in China hands the power to Asian artists to speculate on the peculiarities of Western customs and trends. These artists bring intriguing perspectives to how we process our ever-globalised world.
The centrepiece of the exhibition is a humongous Corinthian column which appears to have been stretched out like dough, lazily coiled like a colossal serpent in the centre of the room, with a “head” that animatronically moves around like a charmed snake, with sensors enabling it to search out and follow spectators in the gallery. Created by artist Xu Zhen, the work titled Eternity vs Evolution was first seen in Canberra before coming to roost in Chippendale.
Elsewhere, Tang Nannan’s wrap-around video installation Faith Mountain submerges viewers in mountainous waves until we become, as the Zen saying goes, simply one drop in an endless ocean. Lin Yan humbles and unites us as mortals under her vast, textural sky in a walk-through paper and ink installation. A live performer is frozen in a precarious falling pose. Paintings that appear fluffy and soft are constructed from tiny, hand-pasted shards of paper. An encompassing video game scene playing out across either side of a dark alley looks familiar, but reveals the struggles of living under contemporary capitalism in China. And the Gingerbread man (the one who knows the Muffin Man) makes an appearance in a line-up of shiny, hyper-bright resin artworks that see popular characters from Western media smooshed into vaguely distinguishable heaps.
As stated on White Rabbit’s website: “These artists show us that it is not simply brute force that drives a nation and its people. Rather, it is the grand and overarching narratives, outstanding creativity and unique art practices that have the power to move a population en masse.”
Big in China is showing now at White Rabbit Gallery in Chippendale until May 22 2022. Entry is free. (Save your appetite for tea and dumplings in the café while you digest the art.)
