The trace is not a presence ... exploring Chinese heritage through art

Exploring the passage of time and memory, this exciting range of works includes paintings, sculptures, ceramics, installations, videos and prints. They connect the artists’ material histories – including historical objects and cultural items – with their present lives. The works often draw on familiar iconography and materials but are reconfigured and adapted to tell artists’ personal stories. 

A ‘trace’, China Gallery curator Shuxia Chen explains, is the passage of time, history, and memory delved into by the artists for this exhibit.

“These pieces illustrate how traces can be fabricated, replicated and threaded into the present,” she said. “They explore the power of ephemeral and intangible elements in art, challenging notions of presence and absence.

“Objects that belonged to the past are a fundamental element of this exhibition, with the artists reclaiming these objects, transforming them to the present – transcending the material and the history they embodied.”

Historical documents and cultural objects complement the contemporary works by these renowned and emerging artists.

Dongwang Fan will reclaim the iconic ‘Willow Pattern’, a design of willow trees that was appropriated in blue and white porcelain for European audiences. He reappropriates the pattern associated with Chinese culture and introduces elements of his Australian migration experience to his work. Fan has embraced a signature style, combining traditional Chinese carving techniques with new acrylic paintings. 

Jenna Lee, a Larrakia artist with Chinese, Japanese and Anglo Australian heritage, is presenting an exploration of core moments in Australian history through the lens of her own family history. Her work specifically relates to the pearl shell button industry in Australia during the late 1800s, reshaping found objects into new narratives. 

Cyrus Tang presents video projection of recreated portraits made of charcoal mixed with the ashes of incense dissolving in water. The portraits are of two significant Australian-Chinese women, Alice Lim Kee and Daisy Kwok, who helped fundraise for war relief during World War II. Tang celebrates them as Chinese women who confronted and rejected traditional expectations and roles set upon them. Tang’s other presentation for this exhibit uses firing process in ceramic practice to transform a set of antique encyclopedias into new form, exploring the concept of knowledge and learning from our past. 

An alumnus of Sydney College of the Arts, John Young returns to the University to present a project of retelling. His work is a replica of a palm-sized diary written by Chinese-Australian miner Jong Ah Siug who had come to Australia to find gold but was unjustly incarcerated for 33 years in lunatic asylums. He learnt English in an attempt to exonerate himself which he documented in his diary. Young hand-traced Jong Ah Siug’s words of broken English (with Cantonese grammar) to create his presentation, the process of which evoked reflections on agency, endurance and hope. The original diary, written in 1866 is displayed alongside Young’s prints.

Louise Zhang 张露茜 is a Chinese-Australian multidisciplinary artist who presents sculptural works in her signature hyper-coloured and sugary palette. Zhang contrasts attraction and repulsion in her works to navigate the anxiety, fear and ‘otherness’ reflected in her identity. A 2024 Wynne Prize finalist, Zhang has developed a large following for works that mash together diverse references, like horror films and Chinese mythology. 

Michael Dagostino, Director of the Chau Chak Wing Museum said that this exhibition speaks to the rich history of the Chinese diaspora and its history in Australia.

"The Chinese diaspora in Australia is a unique story of migration, adaptation, and resilience. Its complexity lies not just in the varied origins and experiences of its people, but in how these narratives interlace to shape a multifaceted, dynamic heritage that enriches the Australian cultural landscape."

“The trace is not a presence … tells the story of some of these unique perspectives, encouraging a visitor to learn and delve deeper about the materiality of an artist’s world. The artists and their works reject the concept of defining, instead embracing the ongoing journey of identity, of which doesn’t neatly fit one ideal but reflects the multifaceted experience of the artist and the sub-cultures of which they belong.”