Public Programs

First Life - unworldly encounters

30 May – 6 July 2012. Opening 6pm Wednesday 30 May 2012
Venue: Chan Contemporary Art Space
To be opened by former Australian Ambassador to China Dr Geoff Raby

Archaic lands, age-old mysticisms, metaphysical convictions, life and death – in 2010 a group of Chinese and Australian artists went on a remarkable journey from remote Indigenous communities in the ancient lands of Arnhem Land to the sacred mountain peaks of Tibet. What they encountered along the way would redress earthly perceptions profoundly – the essence of mortality at every juncture.

A major installation of Chinese, Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous contemporary and traditional works concerned with subjects beyond the measurable physical world and referencing the 24HR Art 2010 international residency project A first life residency project in landscape.

"One theme which comes through very clearly in the artworks and the artists' own descriptions of their journeys, is the meeting of two ancient cultures in very modern contexts. The fascination, confusion and occasional frustrations that result are powerful experiences that we see reflected in the exhibition" Dr Geoff Raby.

A First Life Residency Project in Landscape

The project, A First Life Residency Project in Landscape, is a residency project that will bring together contemporary visual artists from Australia and China to collectively experience the landscapes and cultures of northern Australia and regional China. As the title suggests, the project is designed to be an intensive ‘real life’ cultural and creative exchange. With the artists acting as cultural anthropologists, they will explore landscapes as being physical repositories of human attitudes, customs and beliefs. The artists will be asked to consider how people’s practices, beliefs and concepts have been informed and determined through living within particular landscapes. The Australian and Chinese artists will travel by road through the landscapes of northern Australia visiting remote regions and communities in Arnhem Land and the Kimberley. They will then undertake a road trip through south western provinces of China, from Lanzhou to Lhasa. The final stage will see the artists undergo an intensive studio session in Beijing to produce new works in response to their adventures for an exhibition to be held in Beijing during 2011 as part of the ‘Year of Australian Culture in China’.

The 24HR Art Director, Steve Eland, has selected the following artists to participate, Sam Leach, Tony Lloyd, Ben Armstrong, Cang Xin, Shi Jinsong and Wu Daxin.