Warm up this winter at NGV Friday Nights and discover China’s ancient terracotta warriors alongside new works by one of the world’s most exciting contemporary artists, Cai Guo-Qiang. Dine at the Hutong Dumpling Bar, enjoy after-hours access to the exhibition and see some of Australia’s best bands and performers play live in NGV’s Great Hall.
Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality & Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape
Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality is a large-scale presentation of the Qin Emperor’s terracotta warriors, discovered in 1974 in China’s Shaanxi province and widely described as the eighth wonder of the world. Presented in parallel, Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape, sees the artist create new art works inspired by his home country’s culture and its enduring philosophical traditions.
6.30pm China Then and Now
Terracotta Warriors: Guardians of Immortality features over 150 treasures of Chinese art and design including one of the greatest archaeological finds of the twentieth century, the Qin Emperor’s terracotta warriors. Cai Guo-Qiang: The Transient Landscape presents a new body of work inspired by the history, places and culture that served as the backdrop to the reign of China’s first emperor, and the creation of the terracotta warriors. Discover the story behind the discovery of the terracotta warriors in 1974 and Cai Guo-Qiang’s multidisciplinary practice with NGV curator Wayne Crothers/Annika Aitken.
7pm & 8.30pm Sui Zhen
Sui Zhen is the alias of Melbourne-based ‘dream beat’ artist Becky Sui Zhen. Her latest body of work reflects on the experience of grief through expansive, atmospheric soundscapes, spoken-word and improvisation. Coupled with her more familiar synth-pop songs, the new Sui Zhen live set unfolds like a narrative from a dream. In her new album Losing, Linda, Becky explores a new persona, Linda: a digital doppelgänger and avatar through which she questions the possibility of death in the digital age.