Modern Artworks

Inside Chau Chak Wing Museum.

Rating: 4.5/5

As a USYD student, I walked along the boulevard on Broadway, leading up to the university stairs, every day. The Chau Chak Wing Museum is on the right-hand side of the university pedestrian road, with its modern design in stark contrast to the historical Quadrangle building. Opened in 2010, it housed a large collection of over 400,000 works, spanning genres from ancient civilisations to natural history. I paid a visit to it on a typical afternoon, which surprised me with its curation and unique displays.

The entrance of the Chau Chak Wing Museum.

The architect and program curators made good use of the location by considering both the surrounding environment and their collections. Situated at the entrance of the university, it’s hard to miss. From the ground floor, you will notice a panoramic window that brings natural light into the museum. It is used perfectly to highlight the Rome collection in the open space. The natural lighting reflected on the collections shows the shapes of the marble statues.

The gradient colours inside the museum are also noticeable, matching the collections. Overall, it has an industrial design. The underground floor is darker in tone to match the permanent and more ancient antiques, whereas the upper floor has a lighter colour which complements the contemporary exhibitions.

The staircase design on the underground floor (left) and the staircase design on the upper floor (right).

The surprise continues as you rest in between your visits. It’s like how sleek features are designed in great airports to accommodate transfer passengers; the museum has one of the best cafés on campus. Situated on the second floor, it offers a range of comfort food, pastries and coffee. A door in the café will lead you to the balcony right above a lawn that is a university soccer field. How nice it is to discuss what you found in the museum with a friend or two while enjoying a nice view of the campus.

While the architecture and design are on point, let’s not forget the enormous range of collections. One of my favourite exhibits from the visit was a lighting installation on the upper floor. It was such a clever play that the artists used two different types of lighting to display both the Aboriginal Art and its pattern on the wall.

The installation art on the second floor.

Another captivating contemporary art project is a series of stereoscopic images that showcase fun anecdotes from daily and family life. I also like the Performing spaces, which showcased people’s expressions in everyday life and the surrounding architecture.

The performing spaces in the showroom for contemporary art.

Another unique collection uses miniatures and accessories to show that common values existed in different cultures. The displayed toggles told big stories, so the exhibitors used wordplay (見微知著) by quoting the following from another culture: seeing mount in a seed. It is essentially the same as seeing a world in a flower from another culture.

The title of the exhibition.

The silk belt collection along with the toggles from the Powerhouse collection (1850-1920).

There are two permanent exhibitions worth seeing too. The second floor told the story of interesting facts about ancient Greece. The artefacts were about what entertainment was like in ancient times. There were detailed illustrations for each section throughout my visit.

The illustrational part (left) and a ceramic showing musical performances and people practising for athletic events in Athens (right) from c.490 BC.

Another exhibition featured a stereographic viewer displaying images showing how the landscape of Australia changed over time. By turning the side handle, you can view photos of Australia’s urban development. It showed how modern Australia was shaped over the years.

Next time you wander around the city or USYD, make time to visit the Chau Chak Wing Museum, which might bring a light touch to your good afternoon.