Author Description

Sun Xun (b. 1980, Fuxin, China) is one of China's most exciting young artists, best known for his stop-motion animations that are based on thousands of ink paintings, charcoal drawings and woodcuts. Containing very little dialogue, these hand-made films use combinations of image, sound and text to raise questions about what we perceive as truth interrogating the differences between official narratives presented by public agencies, politicians and the media - and more marginalised accounts that stem from ordinary people's experiences. This is Sun Xun's first solo exhibition in Australia and encompasses both the MCA's Level 1 North & South Galleries. MCA Curator Anna Davis has invited the artist to create a major new work for the exhibition, which will be displayed in Level 1 North. The artist will also be 'in residence' over one week at the start of the exhibition creating a new wall painting in view of the public in Level 1 South. The exhibition includes a number of Sun Xun's most important animated works, including the hand-drawn 21 KE (21 GRAMS) (2010), which took over three years to complete, the woodcut animation Time Spy (2016), which is the artist's latest work in 3D, and the installation Mythological Time (2016). These screen-based works will be shown alongside a selection of the woodcuts and drawings used in their creation, as well as other key works including paintings, drawings and paper sculptures.