Once upon a time in ancient China, there was an alchemist and philosopher who desperately sought to live forever – and he toiled away in his lab with ingredients like mercury, lead, and gold in his pursuits. Sorry to spoil the ending for you, but he never did find a cure for mortality – however, he did happen to create gunpowder and start a religion along the way. While nowadays this man, Laozi, is better known as a legendary philosopher and the father of Taoism, Chippendale’s White Rabbit Gallery is shining a spotlight on his lesser-known past.
A medieval forerunner to chemistry, the idea of alchemy is rooted in the transmutation of metals and other matter into gold, as well as the pursuit of a universal elixir. Just like Laozi, the artists behind this exhibition are exploring the material realm and pushing the boundaries of what things, as we know them, can be. We’re particularly enamored by Lu Pingyuan’s ‘Shadow of the Shadow, 2021’, a collection of adorable soot-black sculpted creatures with cartoonish eyes that peer curiously back at onlookers (they’re reminiscent of the soot sprites from Spirited Away). In essence, Laozi’s Furnace explores further possibilities of the term “mind into matter, and matter back into mind”.
For the uninitiated, the beloved White Rabbit is a privately-owned, state-of-the-art temple to contemporary Chinese art in the heart of Sydney’s coolest suburb (as certified by Time Out’s global ranking!). We always have high expectations for the bi-annual exhibitions that take over each of the spectacular building’s four floors (the previous showing, A Blueprint for Ruins, was nominated for the inaugural Time Out Sydney Arts & Culture Awards) and Lazoi’s Furnace is no exception. The exhibition takes on all kinds of mediums, from photography arrays to sculptures, some of which require immense attention to appreciate their detail, while others are staggering in size. Don’t expect boring canvas after canvas, the artworks on show are constructed from things like laser scanners, Italian leather, dressmakers pins, and car exhaust pipes.
As always, a trip to White Rabbit isn’t complete without popping into the in-house tea house for pots of freshly brewed tea and steaming plates of dumplings under the canopy of empty birdcages – you’ve just gotta love that combo of existential art and quaint hospitality.
Laozi’s Furnace is showing at White Rabbit Gallery, Chippendale, until Sunday November 3, 2024. Admission to the gallery is free.
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