Rabble-rousers, riffraff, scoundrels, and criminals. Troublemakers, wanderers, deviants, misfits. They’ve gone by many names—but to the Chinese state, they were once known simply as The Hooligans. For as long as rules have existed, people have found ways to break them. In the face of relentless restrictions, Chinese artists have learned to think beyond imposed boundaries. Refusing to cooperate, daring to defy, and stirring up trouble, the artists in this exhibition speak for those sacrificed to keep the peace.

Image: Huang Yongping 黄永砅, Les Consoles de Jeu Souveraines, 2017, steel, aluminium, bronze, wood, plastic, fibreglass, paper, straw and taxidermied horse, 345 x 586 cm diameter. Image courtesy of the Artist and the White Rabbit Collection.