The Mao-era crime of ‘hooliganism’ (流氓罪) was notorious for its broad scope and arbitrary enforcement – becoming a blunt tool used to silence dissent, police morality, and punish anyone seen as a threat to social or political order, including sexual minorities and political dissidents.
And when hooliganism was finally removed from the Criminal Code, it didn’t vanish – it evolved. Chinese artists have learned to think beyond imposed boundaries, those in this exhibition speaking for the rabble-rousers, riffraff, scoundrels; those refusing to cooperate, those daring to defy.
White Rabbit Gallery
19 December 2025 to 17 May 2026
Sydney
Huang Yongping 黄永砅, Les Consoles de Jeu Souveraines, 2017, steel, aluminium, bronze, wood, plastic, fibreglass, paper, straw and taxidermied horse, 345 × 586cm diameter
Courtesy the artist and White Rabbit Collection
