VCA ART 2022

Richard Gao

Graduate Certificate of Visual Art

I'm driven by a desire to know the unknowable; to apprehend the profound mystery of our existence and come face-to-face with the transcendent and the sublime. My practice is therefore a kind of excavation: through spoken word and moving image, I explore ancient things to imbue them with new resonance. As I work in the dark, the logos of a work will often emerge only in its final moments of becoming. In this series I explore the Hindu concept of Atman, the eternal self that transmigrates after death. What is the nature of the soul, and why are we here? I offer no answers, only glimpses into what could be.

Richard Gao, Invocation, jute twine, clear tape, plinth, 2022.
Richard Gao, Time is a River, audio-visual projection, 2022.
Richard Gao, Endings, audio-visual projection, 2022.
Richard Gao, The Wild Iris (Still), digital photograph, 2022.
Richard Gao, Cities of Loss and Wonder (Still), audio-visual projection, 2022.

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campus is situated, the people of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung, who have created art, made music and told their stories here for thousands of generations. We also acknowledge and extend our respect to the Traditional Owners of all lands on which our work is viewed, shared and enjoyed, and to all Elders, past, present and emerging.

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