IAC Art Talks 2026 #3: The Tragedy of Dreams / Crowns of Glass: Ideal vs. Truth by NC Qin

Date: Tuesday 17 November 2026

Time: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm (Sydney time)

Zoom webinar. Please RSVP HERE

Abstract

The grass always seems greener on the other side. We move in search of opportunity, chasing ambitious dreams and imagining that fulfilment lies elsewhere. Yet the other side rarely offers the support systems, access and sense of belonging we may take for granted. Returning to Australia after completing a Master of Fine Arts in Glass at Southern Illinois University, I found myself reflecting on how migration reshapes not only artistic practice, but also our understanding of aspiration, identity and what we value.

As a Chinese Australian artist working across sculpture, performance and glass, my practice explores the deeply human desire to pursue ideals, whether personal or technological. My thesis, The Tragedy of Dreams, asks: Why do humans continue to pursue impossible ideals, even when we know they may hurt us?

This presentation focuses on two bodies of work: Crowns of Glass, a series of flameworked glass headdresses inspired by Chinese opera and ceremonial dress; and Ideal vs. Truth, a video performance that juxtaposes AI-generated visions of flawless movement with the physical realities of wearing fragile glass sculptures. Through these works, I reflect on the tension between idealised visions and lived experience, and consider what might be lost when the pursuit of perfection overshadows the human journey through which meaning is formed.

About the Speaker

Sydney, Australia based artist NC Qin explores the histories of ancient battle artefacts with her primary medium of glass to prompt conversations on heritage and values. Appropriating the symbolism of glass and its associated fragility, risk and preciousness, she uses this medium as a lens to delve into psychological spaces. Her work alludes to global epics and philosophies that reflect her interests from her position as a Chinese Australian woman. Qin’s installations explore how myths change the value system of today, raising questions about the traditional values that are passed down.

Qin completed her Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2026, and her undergraduate at Sydney College of the Arts. During her time in the U.S. she has exhibited in spaces such as Manifest Gallery (OH), Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (TX) and Corning Museum of Glass (NY). She has exhibited extensively in Australia in spaces such as Arts House Melbourne, Casula Powerhouse Museum (Sydney), Gosford Regional Gallery, and the National Glass Museum (Wagga Wagga). Her series "Head Case" was exhibited at and collected by the National Museum of Glass as the winner of the National Emerging Art Glass Prize 2020 as well as the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Architecture (Oxford, UK) as a finalist of IDENTITY 2019: an art and design prize. In 2021, she was commissioned by Gallery Lane Cove with a solo exhibition as part of the Lunar North Confluence with her work Portal going on to win the Vicki Torr Prize 2021. Her piece Crowns of Glass: Yang Guifei was awarded first place in EVOLUTION 2025, an international exhibition in Texas. The makings of her piece Glass Armour was featured for a micro documentary by ESTmedia.

IAC Art Talks

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