Following record breaking attendances for I Loved You, White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney’s dedicated space for contemporary Asian art, invites you to gather round the 29 artists showing in Shuo Shu 说书 (Storytelling) and hear the tales they have to tell.
The history of the written word in China dates back over 4000 years, and when wandering through the streets of imperial China, amidst bazaars and teahouses, one might have stumbled across the figure of a storyteller. Crowds would gather around this lone narrator, whose tales of mystical beasts, warriors, and immortals infused the air with enchantment. Yet in recent years Shuo Shu, or the art of storytelling, has become a dying tradition. Contemporary Chinese audiences have instead turned their attention to digital content.
The artists in this new exhibition map the evolution of the story from timeless myths and literary romances to political propaganda and modern-day censorship. Artists become shapeshifters, and their stories twist and turn to fit within codes and secret messages. Whilst a closed mind is like a closed book, stories reveal themselves to those who are open.
Like all of White Rabbit Gallery’s exhibitions, Shuo Shu is free to visit. And as always, you’d be remiss not to pop into the on-site Tea House for traditional tea and dumplings. Never visited before? White Rabbit is only a ten-minute stroll from Central and Redfern train stations, so get on it.
Shuo Shu 说书, curated by David Williams, opens from December 21, 2022 and runs until May 14, 2023. Note: the gallery will be closed from December 24 to 27, and again from December 31 to January 3.
