In Possible Worlds brings together a selection of recent works by Australian artists Elly Kent, Claudia Nicholson, and Tianli Zu.

Touching on themes of intimacy, dislocation, violence and the pleasures of ordinary life, In Possible Worlds encourages us to question the concrete reality of visual fact when faced with shifting realms of meaning beneath the surface of things. Engaging with the material qualities of forms and imagery enables a process of exchange and negotiation that opens up possibilities of seeing the world in different ways.

Elly Kent’s works on paper draw on her knowledge of traditional Indonesian batik practices – a skill she learnt during her studies at the Indonesian Institute of Art in Yogyakarta. Interested in subverting the ways in which difference is identified and named, Kent re-contextualises batik processes by creating patterns using familiar everyday objects. Crafting stamps out of domestic utensils sourced from her home Kent prints the same object repetitively onto strips of paper that are then dyed, stitched together and stretched over door and window frames.

Born in Colombia and raised in Australia, Claudia Nicholson occupies an ambiguous position between Australian and Latino cultures. As an adopted child, her work questions the construction of identity in the absence of a known ancestry and subsequent experiences of cultural and geographic dislocation. Interested in the social functions of folklore and myth surrounding pregnancy and childbirth, Nicholson works extensively with her family, using performance to comment on social attributes pertaining to kinship and familial relationships.

Fascinated by the powerful potential of shadows, Tianli Zu’s large-scale intricate hand cut-outs and animations are inspired by human and organic forms and genitalia. Drawing on traditional Chinese paper cutting techniques, Zu creates complex visual environments by projecting animations through multiple layers of acetate. These beautiful objects cast shadows that evoke a sense of restlessness, anxiety, doubt and contradiction, reflecting on the inseparable relationship between light and shade and the intertwining of yin and yang.

Developed over a year through a process of curatorial guidance with 4A, these artists were chosen to exhibit by Lisa Havilah, Chief Executive Officer, Carriageworks  and Aaron Seeto, Director of 4A through 4A’s early career artists’ initiative.

Download the Room Sheet.

Access the Media Release here.

Media Coverage

Luise Guest, Tianli Zu: The Power of the Shadow, The Art Life, 24 April 2013

Katherine Linn, In Possible Worlds, Arts Hub, 1 May 2013

Leann Richards, In Possible Worlds, City News, 2 May 2013

Video Interviews

Produced for 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art by Das Platforms.