Congratulations to the 2009 Clemenger
Contemporary Art Award recipient: Ah Xian

Ah Xian
Concrete Forest 2: Sagittaria trifolia
(Threeleaf Arrowhead)野慈菇 2008-2009 (detail)
concrete
55.5 x 45.5 x 27.5 cm
Collection of the artist
©Ah Xian

Banner Caption:
Guan Wei
The god of longevity 2009 (detail)
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
400.0 x 710.0 x 300.0 cm (installation)
© Guan Wei courtesy ARC One Gallery, Melbourne and Kaliman Gallery, Sydney
Photo: Zhang ZiDan

Ah Xian

Throughout his practice, Ah Xian has pursued a deeply personal exploration of cultural and spiritual identity through sculptural portraiture and representation of the human form. Using classical artistic materials and techniques practiced in China for millennia, Ah Xian creates portraits in porcelain, jade, lacquerware, bronze and cloisonné, skilfully reapplying the expressive possibilities of each medium within a contemporary context. For this installation, Ah Xian has made a dramatic shift in materials by using concrete to cast his busts. Rather than employing traditional decorative materials, he has taken the palette of the modern city, the core of our skyscrapers, buildings and footpaths, and imprinted each one with the delicate foliage of different plant species. Concrete forest, 2009,is Ah Xian’s elegiac response to environmental degradation, the encroachment of urban development on the landscape and the inherent fragility of life.