Spaces to Stir

For Lunar New Year 2022, Cindy Yuen-Zhe Chen presented a newly-commissioned body of work interweaving scholarly traditions of Chinese gardens and landscape painting with the stories of First Nations and diasporic women-identifying artists. Exploring artistic practice, aesthetics and labour, these works were informed by discussions and interviews with women-identifying artists and friends of Chen, and sound feedback field recordings from Langshi Village in Guilin, Southern China. Presenting a bespoke exhibition comprised of drawing, video and sound installation, Spaces to Stir amplified the quiet and considered lived experiences of the artist. Curated by Con Gerakaris and presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art in partnership with the Australian National Maritime Museum | January 29 - February 22, 2022.

Curatorial Essay by Con Gerakaris.

Cindy Yuen-Zhe Chen: Spaces to Stir focuses on the fundamental natural elements of Chinese gardens– water and stone–to give prominence to the stories and voices of women living and working in Gadigal, Wallumedegal, Gai-mariagal, Burramattagal and Wiradjuri Countries, New South Wales, and Guilin, southern China.

The earliest gardens in China date back to the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE) and were sprawling parks used by the aristocracy for leisure and private hunting. With the introduction of Buddhism and the instability following the fall of the Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE), gardens refined the vastness and diversity of China’s natural landscape into intimate venues for a quiet and reflective alternate lifestyle. Home to the displaced scholarly elite the garden was the site of discussion, artistic expression and contemplation for the owner and like-minded friends.

Cindy Yuen-Zhe Chen’s installation, sound and video artwork explore concepts of labour and its relationship to both domestic life and creative art practice. This exhibition contains field recordings of women scrubbing clothing in the Li River in Guilin, southern China, gestures the artist has performed to create flowing ink on paper drawings articulating water and stone. This recording also soundtracks Chen’s new video work In Neither Shan nor Shui, presenting a miniaturised landscape composed of hand-wrung paper soaked with Chinese ink and water.

Lastly, Chen interviewed fellow women artists Nicole Barakat, Maddison Gibbs and Kirtika Kain harkening back to the creative exchanges that traditionally took place in gardens, reflecting upon life and art with excerpts visually transformed into sonic paintings created with sound vibrations, ink and water. Cindy Yuen-Zhe Chen: Spaces to Stir has been commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art with support from The City of Sydney.

Artists featured in Sonic Ink Conversations:

Nicole Barakat

Nicole Barakat is a queer femme, SWANA (South West Asian North African) artist born and living on Gadigal Country. She works with deep listening and intuitive processes, with intentions to transform the conditions of everyday life. Her work engages unconventional approaches to art-making, creating intricate works that embody the love and patience characteristic of traditional textile practices. Nicole’s practice is rooted in re-membering and re-gathering her ancestral knowing.

Kirtika Kain

Kirtika Kain is a Sydney based artist who investigates caste identity through a material-rich and alchemical art practice. Born into the Dalit caste (formerly known as Untouchable) within India, Kain utilises materials that relate to themes of valuation, corporeality, ritual and tools of Dalit livelihood. By transforming and reclaiming these humble materials into aesthetic objects of value, Kain attempts to shift the perusal and collective stigma of caste.

Maddison Gibbs

Maddison Gibbs is a proud Barkindji woman who grew up in Dubbo, NSW. She currently lives and works between Sydney and Kandos, NSW. Both artist and activist, Maddison Gibbs' practice examines dual histories – focusing on stories of past and present Aboriginal societies and spirit.