Beyond the Frame

Overview

Surely by now you've been to the White Rabbit gallery. You've stumbled upon its minimalist exterior, tucked away behind the old brewery, and have played for a few hours on its shiny floors. Once inside you've marveled at its collection, which seems to capture a mixture of three elements: playfulness, political dissection and virtuoso craft, and you've had a chat with the engaging and helpful staff. Maybe you've even had a chance to drink a cheeky oolong in the White Rabbit Teahouse.

Now if you haven't done any of this, you have the fantastic opportunity to discover the world of contemporary Chinese art when the White Rabbit reopens its doors to launch Beyond the Frame. As the name suggests, White Rabbit's new exhibition aims to shuck all sense of boundary - whether it be the wooden frame of a canvas or the crisis of national borders.

Ai Weiwei (polymath visual artist, political activist and man of many millions of sunflower seeds) will have his Oil Spill porcelain work on display, tempting eco action with its lush, hand-crafted pollution. Switching to the two-dimensional are the documentary photos of Lu Nan, whose empathic eye has entered Burmese prison camps to observe the day-to-day existence of these forgotten souls, while the completely playful is found in the absurdly over-sized animals hanging out in Liu Di's urban scenes. The level of inspiration in this space is pretty staggering, so much that you'll probably come away dreaming in Chinese.

Image: Daily Shapes (2009) by Dong Yuan