The exhibition, Infrangible Matter; Tracing the Elements is inspired by the five elements or agents within traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean cultures. The elements of Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Earth inform cosmic cycles, the interior of the body and the natural world.
In Chinese traditional culture these five elements are called “Wǔxíng”; in Korean culture they are referred to as “O Haeng” and in Vietnamese as “Ngũ Hành”. Variations of these elements appear in the cultural heritages from across the globe, including Japanese “Godai”, Hinduism and Greek Mythology.
Infrangible Matter; Tracing the Elements explores a variation of the five Sinosphere elements; focusing on Fire, Water, Air, Metal and Earth from a cross-cultural perspective. It examines these five elements in the context of contemporary arts practice. Artists in the exhibition draw from a variety of cultural roots to offer conceptual and poetic interpretations of the elements and how they can reflect deeper themes. Fire, Water, Air, Metal and Earth become agents to address current reflections on colonisation, the environment, migration, personal ritual and more.
Artists: Min-Woo Bang, Cindy Yuen-Zhe Chen, Thomas C. Chung, Charlotte Foster, Pamela Leung, Ganbold Lundaa, Quan Zhu Ma, Pamela See, James Tylor and Hirofumi Uchino
Image: Thomas C. Chung, “As Far As I Could See” (i), 2023, video still
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