Dream Horse

Crafted by Sylvia Zi Xix (子欣) Curated by Luna Wenxin Xu (徐雯莘)

Dream Horse is a site-specific exhibition that transforms the street-facing vitrine into an oversized toy box for everyone. At its centre are Sylvia Zi Xin’s ceramic horse, lantern, moon and clouds, drawing on Chinese folk art including fabric dolls, festive prints and paper-cutting. A short film by Luna, presented in a ceramic frame made by Sylvia, takes the form of a playful 1990s toy commercial, following the making of the horse and the imaginative process behind the exhibition.

The work also asks what happens to those childhood dreams as we grow up. For many who grew up in East Asian families, childhood imagination existed alongside expectations to pursue something more practical and realistic. 

The title comes from the Chinese expression “以梦为马” (Yǐ Mèng Wéi Mǎ), to take one’s dreams as a horse, with the horse embodying the force that carries us forward. Together, the installation and film invite us to dream again, as freely as we once did.

Dream Horse is presented as part of Ceramic Business District for Sydney Craft Week.

Artwork enquiries can be directed to curator Luna Wenxin Xu (徐雯莘).

About the Artist

Zi Xin (子欣) / Sylvia is a Chinese-born, Sydney-based artist working predominantly with clay and colours. Her practice revisits childhood imagination as an act of care. Born in Anhui, China, in 1991, Zi Xin moved to Australia at the age of 16. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney and a Master of Teaching at Western Sydney University, shaped in part by familial expectations, before completing a Bachelor of Fine Art at the National Art School in 2024 as a commitment to her own artistic practice.

Zi Xin has been a finalist in multiple major art prizes, including the Blacktown Art Prize, Georges River Art Prize, Hornsby Art Prize and Fisher’s Ghost Art Award. Her article, “Finding Language in Clay”, was published in the Journal of Australian Ceramics. She has exhibited across galleries and institutions, and her work Atypical Year of the Snake was acquired by Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

About the Curator

Luna Wenxin Xu (徐雯莘) is a Sydney-based curator and researcher focused on site-responsive practice and experimental exhibition models. She is the Founding Director and Curator of Puzzle Gallery, where she has led more than 40 exhibitions and public programs since 2021. Xu holds a Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership from UNSW and has worked across artist-run initiatives, commercial galleries and major institutions including the Art Gallery of NSW and White Rabbit Gallery.

About the Space

you’re okay is a pop-up exhibition program in the front window and foyer of City of Sydney Creative Studios. It brings contemporary digital, performance and installation art directly to the busy footpath of Bathurst Street. 

This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and the City of Sydney Creative Studios, and is proudly presented as part of Sydney Craft Week.