Zhang Xu Zhan’s wildly inventive stop-motion puppetry centres on a darkly comic world of animal outcasts. Based on correspondences between folktales across cultures, Compound eyes of tropical 2020–22 is an animation that hybridises stories in which a small, clever animal tricks a larger predator into helping them cross a river. Zhang Xu’s protagonist is a ‘remix’ of a Java mouse-deer and a fox, variously menaced by crocodiles, buffalos and crabs from different versions of this classic narrative. These cultural transits are amplified by the video’s dramatic, percussive soundtrack, played on-screen by Indonesian gamelan and Taiwanese folk-drum orchestras made up of a host of tiny creatures.

As the animals momentarily reveal human dancers supporting them, it becomes apparent that the entire scenario is an elaborate costumed performance inspired by Chinese dragon and lion dances, Japanese marionettes and the animal-costumed yi zhen troupes of Taiwanese temple festivals. Working in joss-paper, Zhang Xu draws on his generations-old family trade of crafting sculptures from incense-infused paper to be burned in ceremonies and festivals. His puppets and sets, arrayed in dioramas or positioned throughout an atmospheric exhibition space, provide lavish accompaniment to a story rich in cultural references, philosophical reflection and mischievous humour.
 

Feature image: Zhang Xu Zhan's Compound eyes of tropical (still) 2021–22 / Single-channel 4K video installation: sound, colour, 16:05 minutes. ed. 6/6 / Purchased 2024. Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Courtesy and © Zhang Xu Zhan