July 22–October 2, 2022
Ultra Unreal at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA) features the works of six artists and collectives. Club Ate (Sydney), Korakrit Arunanondchai and Alex Gvojic (Bangkok & New York), Lawrence Lek (London), Lu Yang (Shanghai), and Saeborg (Tokyo) create worlds that blend myth and reality, simulating more-than-human futures, evolving belief systems and fluid frameworks of being.
These artists build their imaginative universes on political and personal experience. Their worlds, inhabited by hybrid species and genderqueer beings, are dispersed throughout both actual and virtual areas within the MCA.
In Ultra Unreal, the relevance of mythmaking and its function in navigating the challenging realities of the present are discussed. It explores the ways in which mythologies can be utilized to disclose hidden histories and reframe views of the future, drawing influence from Ning Ken’s thesis of the ultra-unreal.
The politics of the dancefloor have given rise to pieces by Club Ate and Saeborg that capture the vitality of the underground and LGBTQIA+ nightclub scenes. Similar late-night energy permeates the works of Arunanondchai, Gvojic, Lek, and Lu, who explore concepts like Sinofuturism, reincarnation, empathy, and nonhuman consciousness.
Curator Anna Davis says, “The artists and collectives in Ultra Unreal ask questions about belief and technology, empathy and consciousness. In our complex present, thinking critically about the worlds we want to create and inhabit is more important than ever before.”
About the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA)
The leading contemporary art museum in Australia, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), is devoted to displaying, collecting, and understanding the works of contemporary artists. The MCA is situated on one of the most breathtaking places in the world at Tallawoladah, on the ancestral lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, on the edge of Sydney Harbour. A wide range of people are interested in the exhibitions and educational programs the Museum offers. Over 4500 works by Australian artists are included in the MCA Collection, which has a long-standing dedication to the works of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Circular Quay West
140 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 10am–5pm,
Wednesday 10am–9pm
T +61 2 9245 2400
[email protected]