CANBERRA.- The opening of Haegue Yang: Changing From From To From at the National Gallery of Australia has been celebrated with the acquisition of two major works by Yang.

Constantly on the move, the Seoul- and Berlin-based artist Haegue Yang continually seeks out uncharted narratives, processes, and materials, combining industrial objects and intensive, craft-based techniques to produce immersive and engaging works of art. The National Gallery invites visitors to experience Yang’s recent works that explore interconnectivity and movement.

Among others, Changing From From To From showcases two works which are newly acquired for the national collection. Sonic Intermediates – Three Differential Equations (2020) is a sculptural ensemble of three Sonic Sculptures, and Non-Linear and Non-Periodic Dynamics (2020), an expansive wallpaper specifically adapted to the display at the National Gallery.

Russell Storer, Head Curator, International Art said the acquisitions strengthen the Gallery’s Asian contemporary art collection and continue the Know My Name gender equity initiative.

‘Yang’s multimedia environments combine everyday materials and found objects in surprising ways. Her works make connections between the divergent worlds of contemporary mass production, ancient cultural traditions, and natural phenomena,’ Storer said.

The trio of sculptures that make up Sonic Intermediates – Three Differential Equations (2020) will be activated periodically, filling the space with a ritualistic rattling of bells. The sculptures each allude to a pioneering modern artist – Barbara Hepworth, Naum Gabo, and Li Yuan-chia – with a line from Li’s poetry providing the exhibition’s title.

The ‘differential equations’ in the title of the sculpture trio refers to calculations of the movement of objects or energy flows. Such human attempts to map natural forces are also a theme of Yang’s wallpaper Non-Linear and Non-Periodic Dynamics 2020, which is inspired by mathematician Edward Lorenz’s use of differential equations to model the chaotic behaviour of weather. The wallpaper’s imagery of crashing water and spiralling motion conjures up continually shifting and increasingly unpredictable environmental conditions.

For the presentation of the wallpaper at the National Gallery, Yang has included motifs of Kurrajong trees, Bogong moths, local water related elements and a canoe tree, which were incorporated in consultation with Paul Girrawah House, Ngambri (Walgalu)/Wallaballooa (Ngunnawal)/Pajong (Gundungurra)/Wiradjuri (Erambie) peoples.

Haegue Yang: Changing From From To From is free to visit and on display at the National Gallery in Kamberri/Canberra from 27 May to 24 Sep 2023. Sonic Intermediates – Three Differential Equations (2020) will be activated each Saturday at 11am, 12pm, and 1pm.

Curators: Russell Storer, Head Curator, International Art and Beatrice Thompson, Associate Curator, Asian and Pacific Art