Concrete Playground

There is an exhibition on at the Museum of Sydney called House, (in its last week) which is a series of still-lives of objects from famous houses in Sydney: Vaucluse House, Elizabeth Bay House etc. It's an homage to the way homes were brought to life in past times, objects that mattered to their owners and tell us about how they lived their lives.

On the other side of town, an exhibition exploring how a different culture has made a home in Australia is an interesting point of comparison. Chinalink Gallery, as part of the Chinese New Year Festival, is showing four artists who explore the common experience of Chinese Australians growing up in the 1970s and '80s in Australia. Through painting, photography, installation and video art, Danny Chang, Pia Johnson, Shuxia Chen and Cyrus Tang seek to investigate issues about cultural difference, diaspora and identity; the experience of both belonging to and feeling remote from two cultures.

Pia Johnson’s series Who’s That Chinese Lady Who Picks You Up From School? is comprised of portraits of Chinese Australians. The simple, straight on photos without any adornment are similar to a passport photos or another form of portraiture which is purely for an official record of identity, with few visual clues about the person’s personality. It acts as a record of the new generation of Australians, the most tangible product of Australia’s cultural melange: its people.

Head to Chinalinks Gallery to have a look at how the other artists approached the subject matter, or if you are interested in the Chinese art scene in Australia, these artists are ones to watch out for.