Zhang Xu Zhan is an artist and animator whose wildly inventive stop-motion puppetry creates a darkly comic world of animal outcasts and cross-cultural encounters. Inspired by the costumed dragon and lion dances of Chinese tradition and affinities between folk tales across cultures, Compound eyes of tropical 2020–22 hybridises international stories in which a small, clever animal tricks a larger predator into helping them cross a river.

Working in joss paper, Zhang Xu draws on a generations-old family trade of crafting sculptures from incense-infused paper intended to be burned in ceremonies and festivals. His puppets and sets, arrayed in dioramas or throughout an atmospheric exhibition space, provide lavish accompaniment to a story rich in cultural references, philosophical reflection and mischievous humour.

This project is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Cultural Division, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney.