The trace is not a presence ...
The trace is not a presence but is rather the simulacrum of a presence that dislocates, displaces, and refers beyond itself.
- Jacques Derrida
Through the hands of five Australian artists from different Chinese diasporic communities, The trace is not a presence … highlights both the active process of making, and the experience of transcending the past towards a present that is not immediately identifiable and complete.
A trace is a materialised passage of time, history, and memory. The exhibition includes historical documents and cultural objects to suggest traces of the past, as well as contemporary artworks by:
- Dongwang Fan
- Jenna Lee
- Cyrus Tang
- John Young
- Louise Zhang
The paintings, sculptures, installations, videos and prints exhibited illustrate how traces can be fabricated, replicated and threaded into the present.
Here, the process of fabrication and reproduction is a positive act, destabilising staid notions of authenticity. The differences artists create potently distinguish them from being static copies or “doubles” of the so-called origin.
Curator: Shuxia Chen
Header image: Cyrus Tang, The Modern World Encyclopedia. Courtesy of the artist and Arc One Gallery, Melbourne. Image credit: Cyrus Tang