THREE WOMEN WENT TO CHINA
An Exhibition by Suzanne Archer, Hanna Kay and Sarah Tomasetti
Touring regional NSW Galleries from June 2016
In 2012, the year of the dragon, three women went to China. They were artists - respected, awarded and represented- Suzanne Archer, Hanna Kay, and Sarah Tomasetti. In Beijing they showed examples of their work at the Beijing Art Space, in a grand exhibition, opened by the Australian High Commissioner.
This exhibition brings together the paintings, drawings, sculptures, assemblages and frescoes thatSuzanne Archer, Hanna Kay and Sarah Tomasetti have made in response to this and subsequent encounters in China.
Essay and Video
Suzanne Archer: Blueberry Situation is Difficult
This statement Blueberry Situation is Difficult is the English translation from the Chinese name of a dish on a restaurant menu in Beijing. At first these words seem humorous, then baffling, mysterious and ultimately richly poetic. This illustrates very well how I feel about my times in China. Since 2012 I have produced a number of sketchbooks with many ideas for China- based works and have worked almost exclusively with China as my subject since then.
Hanna Kay: Shifting Horizons
The artworks in this exhibition were inspired by several trips to China I’ve made since 2012. The most significant experiences that influenced me were encounters with clay relics in various imperial burial pits (such as in Xian). In addition to being moved by these ancient cultural practices, I was also impressed by the techniques and use of materials by both traditional and contemporary artists
Sarah Tomasetti: Traverse
I began the series Traverse in the half-light of memory and imaginings that surrounded my late mother and grandmother’s diaries of their trips to China in 1958 and 1936 respectively. These trips are bound up with my own consciousness of loss and the fictions of memory that build and scatter in the passing of time.
Three Women Went to China. These five words suggest a mythical journey: a crossing of mountains and oceans; the possibility of danger; adversity overcome and the getting of wisdom. It evokes legendary heroines. Pilgrimage. A fable, perhaps, or a metaphor. Alternatively, it’s a bald factual statement. Three women did go to China, together and separately, more than once. And returned, but not unchanged.
Luise Guest is an educator, writer, independent researcher, blogger, critic and Director of Education and Research for the White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney