Haze is an exhibition of new work by Australian artists Tully Arnot, Sarah Contos and Jensen Tjhung. Together, these three artists undertook 4A’s inaugural Beijing Studio Program at the studios of Chinese-Australian artist Shen Shaomin in Huairou on the northern outskirts of Beijing in September 2013. Upon returning to Australia the artists spoke of both the highlights and challenges of living and working on the fringes of the Chinese capital. The experience had a subtle effect on each artists’ individual practice, broadening their understanding of different conceptual approaches to object-making and divergent modes of interpretation.

Despite Huairou being known domestically as an ‘oxygen bar’ for Beijing due to its leafy environment at the foot of the Great Wall, Tully Arnot, Sarah Contos and Jensen Tjhung were transfixed by the grey mist that was a constant element within their surroundings. During their stay they individually began to consider their own position in this foreign landscape and the ways in which quotidian materials and objects – and language itself – can obfuscate simple understandings or explanations of place.

The artworks presented in Haze juxtapose structural materials such as concrete and steel with kinetic components, reconfiguring domestic objects with a sense of playfulness that highlights the absurdity and humour that can occur in moments of cultural exchange.

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Access the Media Release here.

 

MEDIA COVERAGE

2SER Radio 107.3FM, So Hot Right Now with Jess Scully. Exhibition curator Toby Chapman and Sarah Contos interviewed on 16 August 2014. Podcast available here.

Gina Fairley, Great clarity in Haze partnership, Arts Hub, 27 August 2014.

Luise Guest, Haze at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, The Art Life, 26 August 2014.

Beijing Haze, Broadsheet.

Chloé Wolifson, REVIEW: Haze – Tully Arnot, Sarah Contos, Jensen Tjhung, RAVEN, 27 August 2014.