Ah Xian – Artist Essay Example

Xian is regarded as one of the first contemporary artists of his time both in Australia and overseas Ah Xian grew up during the cultural revolution in china and was trained as an artist specialising in painting He came to Australia as a visiting student during the 1980’s at the University of Tasmanias school of art He returned to china shortly before the violent tianimen square massacre in 1989 Subsequentto this event, he decided to seek political asylum in Austtralia 1990 Ah Xian states that “although politics and art both play major roles in human history… art is ever-precious, exploring our peaceful, bright and never-ending imagination”, typifying his involvement in the Art world and as an artist. While Ah Xian lives in Sydney, he still maintains strong connections to his homeland and family by dividing his time equally between China and Australia.

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Xian uses art as a catalyst to voice his opinions about cultural displacement, politics and the political relationship between the east and the west The themes of cultural and spiritual identity are prominent throughout Xian’s work Traditional motifs including dragons, landscapes, flowers, lilypads, trees and craggy mountains are also used Ah Xian believes that artists in China now have more freedom to express themselves as individuals and as active members of a society His ten year, philosophical journey, as he probed into the world of ceramics in China’s historic centre for fine porcelain, Jingdezhen, led him to seek his own cultural background which had long formed his family’s and his own identity.

He contrasts his own contemporary porcelain busts; eyes shut and faces without expression, with

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