A new set of shows have opened at the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney. On view until 31 March art lovers can start the year with two exhibitions ‘TRANSFORM.ME [易装 · 癖]’ by Ye Funa and ‘YEAR OF THE DRAGON [龙年]’, a group show with work by artists Shaun Daniel Allen, Fan Dongwang, WeiZen Ho, Jacquie Meng, Sin Wai Kin, Thirteen Feet Tattoo Studio and Yang Yongliang.
TRANSFORM.ME by Ye Funa is an audience participatory installation on the ground floor of the space, curated by Thea-Mai Baumann. It takes shape as a ‘cyber grunge salon’, inspired by China’s SMART (Sha-ma-te) subculture, a goth-glam style said to have had its genesis in the mid-2000s in rural provinces and moved into the cities with migration. The gallery says ‘Ye’s practice navigates the complexities of everyday life, probing the links between authority, social dynamics, and the fictitious realm of propaganda that shapes the idea of ‘perfection’ in ideologies and utopian landscapes. Her work is politically charged, subtly engaged in pastiche as a satirising style of propaganda.’
YEAR OF THE DRAGON is curated by Con Gerakaris and will visualise the connection between ‘earthly and celestial realms through contemporary mythology.’ This speaks to the idea that those born under the fifth zodiac sign of the dragon are said to be connected to a divine plane. The artists take a contemporary lens to the traditional tale of the Jade Emperor and the four dragons.
