The Playhouse: Impermanence, Ritual and Transformation

The Playhouse draws from my early encounters with Chinese opera — first watched from a distance on television, then experienced live through a travelling troupe where sound, movement, and performance transformed an ordinary place into something fleeting and magical. That moment stayed with me.

This work reflects on impermanence, ritual, and transformation as ongoing states. Using paper, balsa wood, and fragments of Chinese calendars, I explore how structures can hold memory and anticipation, revealing themselves slowly through touch and movement. The Playhouse resists monumentality, instead offering a portable, intimate form shaped by curiosity, play, and quiet choreography.

The work is discussed in Garland’s article “Opening Up the Stage for Gods and Warriors” and is currently showing at Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, 15 November 2025 – 15 February 2026.

Watch transformation video here