1963 – 1988 Born and resident in Beijing, China
1988 – now Resident in Sydney, Australia
Education
2011 – 2014 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney
2009 – 2010 Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney
1983 – 1987 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing, China
1979 – 1983 Central Academy of Fine Arts High School, Beijing, China
Selected Exhibition History
PUBLIC ART PROJECTS
2024 ‘Song of Jigoku’ and Lanterns’, King William Road, Adelaide Festival Centre media screens
2023 ‘Lunar New Year Celebrations’ for Westfield Australia and New Zealand (commission)
2023 ‘Lunar New Year Gates’ Darling Harbour (commission 2nd year, Darling Harbour)
2022 ‘Gate of Grace’. OzAsia Festival Adelaide (commissioned by Adelaide Festival Centre)
2022 ‘Over the Moon’ for the Moon Festival. Chinese Garden of Friendship, Darling Harbour Darling Harbour)
2022 ‘Lunar New Year Gates’ Darling Harbour (commissioned by Department of Planning and Environment Darling Harbour, NSW
2020 ‘Eight Treasures Mask’ papercuts installation. Powerhouse Museum. MAAS collection acquisition
2020 Mulan ‘Loyal, Brave, True’ papercuts installation, Chinese Garden of Friendship. Disney (commission)
2019 ‘i dance with you’ cutout, light and music installation, Vivid Sydney at Chatswood
2018 ‘Triumph’ Port Kembla monument, Dalfram public art, Maritime Union of Australia Grant (commission)
2018 ‘Excavation’ animation – video channel broadcasting, Centre Pompidou, Paris
2018 ‘i dance with you’ installation – Reflations of Asia Exhibition, Powerhouse Museum (commissioned by the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Sydney)
2018 The Flying Penguin installation – Chinese New Year project, Sydney Aquarium (commissioned by Sydney Aquarium)
2017 ‘Pentatonic Roosters’, Chinese Zodiac Lantern Exhibition, Chinatown (commissioned by the City of Sydney)
2017 ‘Ox Mahjong Lantern’, Chinese Zodiac Lantern Exhibition, Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay (commissioned by the City of Sydney)
2017 Year of the Rooster installation projection, Hilton Hotel Sydney (commissioned by the Hilton Hotel Sydney)
2016 ‘Ox Mahjong Lantern’, Chinese Zodiac Lantern Exhibition, Martin Place (commissioned by the City of Sydney)
2016 ‘Monkey, Lifestyle and Chasing the Phantom’ three-series light projection, Enlighten Canberra, National Library of Australia (commissioned by the National Library of Australia and Enlighten Canberra)
2016 Year of the Monkey installation, Hilton Hotel Sydney (commissioned by the Hilton Hotel Sydney)
2015 ‘Shadow Maze’ installation, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre (commissioned by Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre)
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS AND NATIONAL ART PRIZES
2024 ‘Grandma’s Secret Golden Flower, 68th Blake Prize 2024
2024 ‘Fatal Alert’, Winner of Works on Paper, North Sydney Art Prize 2024
2023 ‘Plants are vital for life’, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award 2023
2023 ‘Eight Treasures Mask’ – Powerhouse Museum drawing collection exhibition A Line A Web A World. Powerhouse Museum
2022-3 ‘Eight Treasures Mask’, papercuts sculptures, Chau Chak Wing Museum, The University of Sydney
2021-2 ‘Dinner is served’ site-specific installation. The Way We Eat Exhibition, Art Gallery of NSW
2022 ‘Vanitas’, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award 2021
2021 ‘Dr Gene’ (portrait of Gene Sherman) Portia Geach Memorial Award 2021
2021 “Mr Yiribana” at home with big bad Banksia and Gymea Lily (portrait of Brett Cuthbertson), Salon des Refusés
2021 ‘Voiceless, Sherman Diptych’, Dobell Drawing Prize #22 2021
2020 ‘Tim and Kelp’ (portrait of Tim Flannery), Archibald Prize 2020
2019 ‘Is there something up there?’ (In memory of Edmund Capon), Mosman Art Prize 2019
2019 ‘Keep it all together’ Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC, Governor of NSW (former President of the NSW Court of Appeal), Portia Geach Memorial Award
2019 ‘My favourite nightmare’, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award 2019
2019 “Shadow Paradox”, North Sydney Art Prize
2018 ‘Nuwa is Pregnant III’,National Works on Paper
2017 ‘This is it.’ (portrait of Steve Peters), Salon des Refusés
2017 ‘Not for Sale!’, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award
2017 ‘Dust Shadow’, North Sydney Art Prize
2016 ‘The Senator and Ma’ (portrait of Penny Wong), Salon des Refusés (winner of the Holding Redlich People’s Choice Award). Adelaide Festival Centre acquisition collection 2023
2016 ‘A New Horizon (self-portrait)’, Portia Geach Memorial Award
2016 ‘The Art Gallery after hours’, Paddington Art Prize
2016 ‘The Cascades Symphony’, Mosman Art Prize
2015 ‘Edmund, your Twomblys are behind you’ (portrait of Edmund Capon AM, OBE), Archibald Prize
2015 ‘Shelter of Shadows’, North Sydney Art Prize
2013 ‘Shadows of Strange Things Reinvented’, North Sydney Art Prize
2013 ‘Nuwa is Pregnant II’, Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award
2012 ‘Nuwa is Pregnant’, Brunswick Street Gallery Works on Paper Prize (winner of the Merit Award)
2011 ‘Everything can be seen as a this’, Willoughby Sculpture Prize
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 ‘Blurring Boundaries’, Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, NSW, Australia
2023 Paradise Hell, Hirano Museum, Beppu, Japan
2022 Shadow World, The Institute for Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture, Western Sydney University
2019 A Conversation with SHADOWS, Mosman Art Gallery
2019 Approach: celebrating Chinese culture with Australian experiences, Adelaide Festival Centre, South Australia
2017 Missing, Margaret Whitlam Galleries, Western Sydney University
2017 Ji, Vermilion Art
2015 Elemental, China Cultural Centre in Sydney
2013 Shadow Makes This World, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney
2013 Shadows of Strange Things, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney
2013 White Shadows, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
2012 Identical Differences, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney
2011 Un-named, Art Atrium
2010 Infinite Universe, Chinese Cultural Centre (NSW)
1988 Tales, tales, French Cultural Centre, Beijing
1988 ‘Dragon’ (stamp), Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 ‘Shadow of the AI Age’, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery
2023 ‘Fruit series’, Home and Away exhibition, 16 Albermarle Project Space, Sydney
2022 ‘Shadow Gives Birth’, Where Shadow Meet exhibition, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
2022 ‘A new world on Earth’, Parallel Wanderings, The Urban Screen, Art Space on the Concourse, Chatswood, Sydney
2021 ‘Changes’, project 2060: Homeward Bound, Coal Loader, Waverton, North Sydney Council
2020 ‘Shen Long (spiritual dragon)’, Daughters of the Dragon, Gallery Lane Cove, Sydney
2020 ‘Spirit of the Coolabah Tree’, Between Two Worlds, Newcastle Art Gallery
2017 ‘Nuwa is Pregnant II’, Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks
2016 ‘Nuwa is Pregnant’, Foreshadow: Guan Wei, Yang Xifa, Tianli Zu, Vermilion Art
2016 ‘Chance’, Bill Thompson and Tianli Zu in Dialogue, Conny Dietzschold Gallery
2014 ‘Masks 100’, Chinese Whispers, Goulburn Art Regional Gallery
2014 ‘Openness’, Paper, Spot81
2014 ‘Mask’, I Want to Change the World, GAFA Art Museum, Guangzhou
2014 ‘Nuwa created horses on the sixth day’, Crossing Boundaries – A Celebration of Contemporary Asian Australian Art, Sydney Town Hall
2013 ‘Nuwa is Pregnant II’, Snake, Snake, Snake, Sydney Town Hall
2013 ‘A Wonderful World’, Carrying Tigers over Mountains, Permanence Gallery, 798 Art District, Beijing
2012 ‘Nuwa is Pregnant II’, Critical Thinking: Research + Art + Culture, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney
2012 ‘Nuwa is Pregnant’, Made in China, Australia (national touring exhibition)
2012 ‘A Wonderful World’, The Price of War, Chinalink Gallery
2012 ‘A Wonderful World’, I Am What I Play (in conjunction with AAANZ and AIAS Conferences), National Art School
2012 ‘A Wonderful World’, Cinema Alley, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
2012 ‘Infinite Universe’, Breathe, Art Atrium
2012 ‘Nuwa is Pregnant’, Paper Now, Incinerator Art Space
2011 ‘Up is down, down is up’, 4A Members Exhibition, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (winner of the Emerging Artist Award)
2011 ‘Everything can be seen as a this’, Open Call, Verge Gallery, University of Sydney
2011 ‘Tale’, Cinema Alley, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
2010 ‘An In-between-er Binds in Shadow’, Postgraduate Degree Show, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney
2011 ‘Tale’, Comings and Goings: Lai-lai Wang-wang – The Inaugural Documentary Exhibition of Australian-Chinese Contemporary Art, Chinalink Gallery
2011 ‘Butterfly Dream’, Inaugural National Papercuts Exhibition, Yu County, Hebei
2009 ‘Dancing with Ink – Performance’, Action v Action, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art