From 15-29 February, our Moving Image Program is exhibiting a selection of works to celebrate Lunar New Year on our King William Road digital screens.
This special edition of the Moving Image Program focuses on a selection of seven works to celebrate the Lunar New Year:
- Bin Bai, Four Seasons, animation, 2:24
- Evie Ewings, Spring’s Arrival, animation, 0:48
- Onnie Chan and Alex Ngo, Vivid Pacgon, animation, 2:05
- Laurens Tan, When the Water Ebbs, Stones Will Appear , 3D and composited animation video, 3:00
- Louise Jones, A Leap into the New Year, animation, 1:05
- Tianli Zu, Song of Jigoku, digital video and animation, 8:33
- Tianli Zu, Lanterns, animation, 1:00
Read about each work direct from the artists:
Bin Bai, Four Seasons, animation, 2:24
My name is Bin Bai (a.k.a Gentsu Gyatso), and I am a visual artist with 20 years of experience. I hold two master's degrees, one in fine art and the other in contemporary art.
I find inspiration in the notion that being an artist is a unique career that allows my creative mind to flourish. Through cultural and historical studies, I've come to realise the profound impact of art on social development. Thus, artistic creation has taken on deep meaning for me. My primary mediums are two-dimensional forms, such as paintings, graphic designs, and short
In the quantum foam, our world is floating in a big bubble.
Cosmic birds are guarding the two flanks, and the four seasons shaped a sanctuary for all beings.
May the snowy peak never reveal the dark soil underneath.
May the ocean waves forever wash up the shore but gently.
Evie Ewings, Spring’s Arrival, animation, 0:48
I create stories with my work using 2D animation that focuses on colour, expressions and movement to capture the tone and narrative I want to share. As I'm often inspired by music, sound plays an important role in the timing and energy of an animation.
I've been exploring different ways to animate as the intention of each piece is unique and the style of animation is representative of what I want to tell. I love rough animation for it's ability to convey movement and energy, and have been interested in using rigging for complicated character designs. My intention when animating is always to embody the content, so exploration of styles, techniques and software have informed my creative process.
This piece is a looped animation focusing on the Lunar New Year. It features a Chinese dragon, as it's now the Year of the Dragon, and follows it through the transition of winter to spring with red lanterns and plum blossoms representing the arrival of the new season.
Onnie Chan and Alex Ngo, Vivid Pacgon, animation, 2:05
Onnie Chan and Alex Ngo are the founders and core members of Women in Creative Technologies, a collaborative platform that celebrates the power of art and storytelling. WiCT is passionate about promoting the inclusion of women from diverse cultural backgrounds and varied life experiences. To visually articulate these stories, WiCT leverages creative technologies to create immersive and enjoyable experiences.
Enter the captivating world of Vivid Pacgon, created by two women, Onnie and Alex, who have an intimate understanding of their Asian heritage, this piece goes beyond the traditional celebrations associated with the occasion. For us, the Lunar New Year is not just about enjoying delicious food and spending time with family and friends. It symbolizes a time of transformation where parents hope their children will grow and succeed, while adults embark on new journeys in search of better careers, higher salaries, and good fortune for the coming year.
The artwork Vivid Pacgon is inspired by the age-old tradition of playing games and gambling during Lunar New Year celebrations. It explores the excitement of unpredictability and luck through a dynamic dragon that comes to life in a game reminiscent of the popular classic Pacman. The fusion of playful gaming with traditional elements of the Lunar New Year creates a stunning visual experience that captures the desire for a fresh start and the excitement of change.
Laurens Tan, When the Water Ebbs, Stones Will Appear, 3D and composited animation video, 3:00
Laurens Tan’s practice centres on the plight of a global trance as it affects cultural identity – linking sculpture, architectural & industrial design, 3D animation and video, graphics, and music.
When the Water Ebbs, Stones Will Appear - is a Chinese chengyu (idiom) and refers to holding off judgement until obstacles clear the view. Laurens' focus on chengyus are linked to his research in customs and culture since his residency in Beijing since 2006.
Laurens was born in the Netherlands. His great grandparents migrated from Fujian, China in the late 1800s. He migrated to Australia with his parents in 1962. He lived in Adelaide before moving to New South Wales to take up a position at University of Wollongong. He still resides in Wollongong and maintains a studio in Beijing and another in Las Vegas and regards the three places as home.
Laurens’ work has featured in major international survey exhibitions in Beijing, USA, South Korea, Japan, and in Australia at the Sydney Powerhouse Museum, and National Galleries of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. Laurens is an academic coordinator in Art & Design at universities in Australia, USA, and China, and has served as Artist Advisory Group Member, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (2004-06), as member of the Board of Directors, Asian Australian Art Association (4A), Sydney (1997-2007), the Wollongong City Gallery (2006-2008).
Louise Jones, A Leap into the New Year, animation, 1:05
My name is Louise Jones, and I am currently studying the Bachelor of Illustration and Animation at the University of South Australia.
I hope to work in the animation industry once I graduate as I am passionate in producing innovative, inspiring creations.
My animations often combine organic, textured digital background with my bouncy, swift animated drawings. My favourite aspect to animate is figures flying through the air.
This animation is created to evoke wonderous, adventurous emotions to encapsulate the feeling of a new beginning; a new year. A girl takes a leap of faith into the new year.
Tianli Zu, Song of Jigoku, digital video and animation, 8:33
Song of Jigoku (2023) is an animation created by Chinese-Australian multimedia artist Tianli Zu. Zu combined her drawings and papercuts to create moving images. It takes viewers on a journey of nature and customs in the setting of the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, Beppu. Zu visited Beppu's eight famous Jigoku/hells between Beppu Bay and volcanic mountains. On the Tsukahara volcanic hot spring, she created a 10-meter-long ink drawing responding intuitively to the heat energy and the fog's movements generated by the hot spring.
Working on the tatami, Zu painted the drawing with an earthy colour, then folded it into small pieces. Zu hand-cut about 800 plum blossom flowers. On the centre of each plum blossom flower, she cut a water symbol motif inspired by her visit to the Onbara Falls. The Falls – regarded as a hidden paradise by the locals – provide drinking water for the Beppu residents. The water motif signifies prosperity, hope, beauty, renewal, and vitality.
Song of Jigoku constructs stories by following the hot water gushes out from the hells. The video ended with a scene of hundreds and thousands of plum blossoms bursting into flowers from the paradise. Lunar New Year is traditionally called Spring Festival. Plum blossoms signify the arrival of spring. They provide the five blessings of joy, happiness, longevity, prosperity, and peace.
Tianli Zu, Lanterns, animation, 1:00
Lanterns symbolise to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the luck and prosperity of the new one. They are widely used for Lunar New Year celebrations in many Asian countries.
The animation is developed from the artist’s papercuts. Tianli Zu learned papercutting from her grandmother when she was 6-year-old. Papercut is one of the traditional folk arts in China. Auspicious-themed red papercut appears in every household during festive occasions. In the 1980s, she travelled to rural Shaanxi province where the Chinese culture originated. She papercut with the peasants while learning the folklore and traditional papercutting methods. Zu has expanded this intangible cultural heritage into contemporary art. She creates new motifs and patterns to narrate new stories reflecting her Chinese Australian experience. She composed the Lanterns with Asian plants, the Australian native plant eucalyptus, lucky clouds, and good fortune motifs, such as the lotus flower signifies prosperity and a new beginning, peach symbolises longevity, and water represents nourishment and eternity. She then digitally manipulated her papercuts to make lantern dances. The animation offers viewers an immersive experience.
As a child in China, Zu used to hang glowing lanterns at home and went on night lantern parades during Spring Festivals. She recreated her memories to invite everyone from the public to join the celebration.
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Moving Image Program
A gallery of current and previously screened works.
