[Right: Human human - lotus, cloisonne figure 1, 2000-01, Ah Xian, hand-beaten copper, finely enamelled in the cloisonne technique, 158 x 55.5 x 32cm. Collection: Queensland Art Gallery.]

A refugee after the tragedy of Tiananmen Square, conceptual sculptor and ceramicist Ah Xian now shares his time between Australia and China. By preserving traditional practices and techniques, Ah Xian provides lovers of porcelain, cloisonné and other forms of traditional Chinese sculpture with a unique experience, intertwining recognisable human features with representations of nature, myth and humanity.

The centrepiece of this exhibition (which includes his latest work, pieces from his own collection and others acquired by the Queensland Art Gallery), won the inaugural National Sculpture Prize at the National Gallery of Australia in 2001. Human human - lotus cloisonné figure 1 is surrounded by three displays featuring life-sized busts of various modes of construction. To the left, the complementary pieces, China China - bust no.61 and no.62 share stunning filigree work on their porcelain bases.

Respectively finished in gold and silver and originating from male and female models, the faces are models of serenity. On closer inspection, however, many facial features have been occluded or obliterated altogether by a roiling ocean and equally rampant dragon (bust no.61) and in the case of bust no.62, a phoenix in flight among clouds.

China China - bust no.63, draws the viewer into a traditional southern Chinese landscape, complete with tiny human figures dwarfed by soaring mountains and high-altitude lakes. Human human - inlay bust 2, jade dragon scales seems to promise a reptilian surface both cool and moist to the touch.

The most disturbing of all is Human human - carved lacquer bust 1, dragon, which seethes with raw emotion as a red dragon cavorts around the head and shoulders of its human host. There is a strong implication that the entire figure is, in fact, devoid of skin, with the underlying whorls in the material reminiscent of exposed musculature.

A further series of porcelain busts, China China - busts no.1, 3, 4 and 10 , represent Ah Xian's earlier, livelier work in this style. Typically, they have been cast from live models, mostly friends and family of the artist. The precise rendering of features in the hand-painted and glazed porcelain offers astonishing details, including eyebrows, hair and imperfections in the models' skin. Here again, the serenity of the facial features defies the discomfort the models must have experienced during the casting process.

After fashioning a series of casts from a living model, Ah Xian commissioned artisans from Jingdezhen in the Jiangxi Province of China (renowned for its porcelain) to create a copper rendition of the full figure, Human human - lotus cloisonné figure 1. Her entire surface is decorated with cloud and lotus patterns. An engaging video at the exhibition shows the intensely laborious precision involved in the cloisonné technique: placing the tiny, individually cut and shaped copper wires onto the body during the enamelling process, which is then hand-filled with coloured ceramic by a team of artisans.

Every single piece on display evokes varying levels of emotion, tranquillity to anxiety, inviting comparisons with Victorian death masks, or mortuary photographs. Through the serene and yet discordant nature of Ah Xian's work, we glimpse the very different natures encountered in the countries he chooses to live in, the tension between beauty, history, duty and dreams of the future. Reconciling these contradictions through art is the key to Xian's survival in a wildly evolving world.

Tim Milfull is a freelance writer based in Brisbane.