BADIUCAO

Bio

 

Badiucao is a Chinese Australian artist, activist, and political provocateur. Born in Shanghai, his works address censorship, authoritarianism, and capitalism. For years, he operated anonymously — until his dramatic unmasking as told in the ABC documentary, “China’s Artful Dissident.” He has collaborated with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, and other rights organisations.

 

He sees no limits when it comes to exploring different art forms and mediums. Beginning with traditional art practices, he soon branched out to street art and political cartooning, before moving into multimedia installations. In 2018, he worked out of contemporary artist Ai Weiwei’s Berlin studio. 

 

Badiucao has exhibited in Australia and Europe, and was an artist in residence in the United States. His first solo exhibition, scheduled in Hong Kong, was shuttered under pressure from Chinese authorities. Three subsequent international solo shows also faced threats, but moved forward successfully at the Museo di Santa Giulia in Brescia, Italy, at DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague, and at Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw.

 

His upcoming graphic novel, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION, is co-authored with Emmy-nominated American journalist Melissa Chan.

 

Badiucao has been interviewed by The Washington Post, The Guardian, Time, CNN, NBC, Monocle, Artnet, and others, and was profiled by The New York Times and CBS News’s 60 Minutes. In Australia, he was most recently interviewed by ABC’s culture programme, The Art Of...

 

In 2023, Badiucao received a Walkley for his political cartoons in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. In 2020, Badiucao won the Human Rights Foundation’s Václav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent. In 2019, The Cartoonists Rights Network International awarded him its Courage in Cartooning Award.

​

​​

​

Employment 

 

2022 - present Editorial Cartoonist | The Age / The Sydney Morning Herald 2018 - 2019 Graphic Designer and Assistant to Ai Weiwei | Berlin

​

​

Theatre

2021 “Enlightenment” | stage art | Joe Paradise Lui and Elbow Room, Melbourne
2016 “You and Me and the Space Between” | live illustrator | Terrapin Puppet Theatre

 

Education

2017 Victoria College of Art, Melbourne
2016 Adelaide Central School of Art, Adelaide
2011 MA, University of South Australia, Adelaide
2009 BA, East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai