Chindia’ consists of a visual art exhibition by six artists who explore issues of cultural and national identity, politics, displacement, and diaspora histories.
China and India are two of the most populous countries in the world. With histories which date back thousands of years, the Chinese and Indian peoples have a long history of overseas migration, maintenance of cultural identity, and socio-cultural exchange with local cultures. Today, both countries have a large diaspora population around the world including in Australia.
Drawing on my own Chinese and Indian ancestry, ‘Chindia’ unpacks the multiplicity of migrant identities in Australia looking at the perspective of those with Chinese and Indian heritage as a starting point.
Both these nations have a particular history of cultural intermingling as well as conflict that has shaped migration experiences. In advocating the principles of peaceful co-existence, what can we learn from these cross-cultural connections and the implications for past, present and future engagement with First Nations and other South and East Asian peoples?
‘Chindia’ consists of a visual art exhibition by six artists who explore issues of cultural and national identity, politics, displacement, and diaspora histories. As part of the Chindia exhibition, ‘Stories from the Artists’ will feature artists and performers sharing their family stories, inspirations and motivations. ‘Stories from the Diaspora’ will screen short films that reveal a snapshot of the lived experiences of the diaspora community.
Championing the practice of the arts as a socially innovative tool, ‘Chindia’ aims to increase community engagement and participation to create an inclusive, culturally rich, diverse and vibrant society. The inclusion of diverse artists is not just an acknowledgement of and visibility for those communities, but an opportunity for these communities to meet and engage further with each other and others.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which this exhibition has been curated and produced. As more migrant communities settle in Australia, we want to ensure that we pay our respect to Elders, past and present and remain committed to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander people.
BIOS
Anindita Banerjee
Anindita Banerjee is an interdisciplinary artist, working in video, textiles, ephemeral installations and visual art juxtaposed with elements of performance. The memories of ritualistic ceremonies and mark-makings and reconstruction of them informs my practice.
Anurendra Jegadeva (represented by Wei-Ling Gallery)
Anurendra Jegadeva is a Malaysia-born, Melbourne-based visual artist whose works is centred on breaking through political, religious and economic barriers. A figurative artist and writer with a deep social consciousness, his work is concerned with the contemporary portrait as well as the narratives, real and imagined, that accompany them.
Guo Jian (represented by Art Atrium)
Guo Jian is a Sydney-based Chinese Australian artist whose art is a product of the last fifty years of violence and tumultuousness in China, from the Cultural Revolution through to the horrors of the Tiananmen Square incident. A central theme to his art derives from his observations of the application of propaganda to both motivate soldiers and sway public opinion.
Lilian Lai
Lilian Lai is a Malaysian-born, Sydney-based artist whose works are predominantly ink on rice paper and her contemporary interpretation of the Chinese xie yi 寫意 (literally “writing intention”) style; a spontaneous freehand style which conveys the spirit of the subject matter rather than visual realism. The rice paper and painting style is important to her heritage as a migrant to Australia of Chinese ethnicity.
Lucy Wang (Ru Xi)
Lucy Wang (Ruy Xi) is a Sydney-based, Australian-Chinese contemporary ink brush painter. Her works depict the artistic journey into the spiritual realms often blurred by reality and imagination. Much of her works have references to ancient Chinese folklores and the dragon is a recurring metaphor that appears in her works, as a representation of her inner self: ever-changing, adaptive and ethereal.
Texta Queen (represented by Sullivan and Strumpf)
Texta Queen is a visual artist known for using the humble and unforgiving medium of fibre-tip marker (aka ‘texta’) to articulate complex politics of race, gender, sexuality and identity; examining how visual and popular culture inform personal identity with increasing focus on the influence of ethno-cultural and colonial legacies on these dynamics.
China and India are two of the most populous countries in the world. With histories which date back thousands of years, the Chinese and Indian peoples have a long history of overseas migration, maintenance of cultural identity, and socio-cultural exchange with local cultures. Today, both countries have a large diaspora population around the world including in Australia.
Drawing on my own Chinese and Indian ancestry, ‘Chindia’ unpacks the multiplicity of migrant identities in Australia looking at the perspective of those with Chinese and Indian heritage as a starting point.
Both these nations have a particular history of cultural intermingling as well as conflict that has shaped migration experiences. In advocating the principles of peaceful co-existence, what can we learn from these cross-cultural connections and the implications for past, present and future engagement with First Nations and other South and East Asian peoples?
‘Chindia’ consists of a visual art exhibition by six artists who explore issues of cultural and national identity, politics, displacement, and diaspora histories. As part of the Chindia exhibition, ‘Stories from the Artists’ will feature artists and performers sharing their family stories, inspirations and motivations. ‘Stories from the Diaspora’ will screen short films that reveal a snapshot of the lived experiences of the diaspora community.
Championing the practice of the arts as a socially innovative tool, ‘Chindia’ aims to increase community engagement and participation to create an inclusive, culturally rich, diverse and vibrant society. The inclusion of diverse artists is not just an acknowledgement of and visibility for those communities, but an opportunity for these communities to meet and engage further with each other and others.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which this exhibition has been curated and produced. As more migrant communities settle in Australia, we want to ensure that we pay our respect to Elders, past and present and remain committed to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander people.
BIOS
Anindita Banerjee
Anindita Banerjee is an interdisciplinary artist, working in video, textiles, ephemeral installations and visual art juxtaposed with elements of performance. The memories of ritualistic ceremonies and mark-makings and reconstruction of them informs my practice.
Anurendra Jegadeva (represented by Wei-Ling Gallery)
Anurendra Jegadeva is a Malaysia-born, Melbourne-based visual artist whose works is centred on breaking through political, religious and economic barriers. A figurative artist and writer with a deep social consciousness, his work is concerned with the contemporary portrait as well as the narratives, real and imagined, that accompany them.
Guo Jian (represented by Art Atrium)
Guo Jian is a Sydney-based Chinese Australian artist whose art is a product of the last fifty years of violence and tumultuousness in China, from the Cultural Revolution through to the horrors of the Tiananmen Square incident. A central theme to his art derives from his observations of the application of propaganda to both motivate soldiers and sway public opinion.
Lilian Lai
Lilian Lai is a Malaysian-born, Sydney-based artist whose works are predominantly ink on rice paper and her contemporary interpretation of the Chinese xie yi 寫意 (literally “writing intention”) style; a spontaneous freehand style which conveys the spirit of the subject matter rather than visual realism. The rice paper and painting style is important to her heritage as a migrant to Australia of Chinese ethnicity.
Lucy Wang (Ru Xi)
Lucy Wang (Ruy Xi) is a Sydney-based, Australian-Chinese contemporary ink brush painter. Her works depict the artistic journey into the spiritual realms often blurred by reality and imagination. Much of her works have references to ancient Chinese folklores and the dragon is a recurring metaphor that appears in her works, as a representation of her inner self: ever-changing, adaptive and ethereal.
Texta Queen (represented by Sullivan and Strumpf)
Texta Queen is a visual artist known for using the humble and unforgiving medium of fibre-tip marker (aka ‘texta’) to articulate complex politics of race, gender, sexuality and identity; examining how visual and popular culture inform personal identity with increasing focus on the influence of ethno-cultural and colonial legacies on these dynamics.
