Public Curators Building

Zhang Xu Zhan’s Compound eyes of tropical is a dizzying stop-motion animation evoking myth, folklore and fantastical worlds. The creatures that inhabit these worlds—crocodiles, foxes, crabs, frogs, rabbits, and others—are made using a Taiwanese papermaking technique, bringing an energy and vitality to the video and sculptures on level three at Cairns Art Gallery. Zhang Xu works across various media, including video art, stop motion animation, sculpture, and installation. He was born into a family that for many generations has specialised in crafting joss paper effigies to be burnt during funerals and religious ceremonies. His practice is deeply connected to this tradition, often exploring themes of ritual and death and using papier-mâché as a key material.

Inspired by Taiwan’s Yi zhen folk dance, where dancers wear animal costumes and perform in temple celebrations; and the Southeast Asian folk tale ‘Mouse Deer and Crocodile’, the animation features a half-mouse deer, half-fox shaman puppet dancer. In this gripping story the cunning protagonist races through a forest, switching between human and animal forms, using his wits to outsmart the crocodiles in the river in a daring attempt to reach the other side. The character of the ‘trickster’ underpins many folk tales from around the world, where a small and often underestimated creature attempts to outsmart a terrifying predator. Compound eyes of tropical is inspired by these archetypes, with Zhang Xu’s feisty main character shape-shifting across different creatures playing the same role.

Set to the hypnotic beat of a ceremonial drum, audiences view the narrative through the lens of a fly’s compound eyes, suggesting multiple viewpoints and possible interpretations from visual, cultural and personal perspectives. Compound eyes of tropical, like many beguiling folk tales across cultures and eras, offers danger, moral ambiguity, magic and delight without a guaranteed ‘happily ever after’.

– Katie Dyer, Consultant Senior Curator