Tuesday, December 8, 2015

APT8 arrives in Brisbane




As you can see from this amazing image by Australian artist Danie Mellor (above) Ive been out and about seeing some beautiful work over the weekend in Brisbane - as the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial has just opened. The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) have been taken over by some amazing contemporary artists. And believe me - two days was just enough! 

The APT is such a brilliant and unique exhibition and The Queensland Arts has to be commended for their brave move to continue investing in this initiative to find, cultivate, support, and acquire artworks from countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Mongolia, New Caledonia and every country in between. The collection of works they present is always interesting, diverse and completely thought provoking. 

Ive just been to Venice to see the Biennale this year and I swear I saw more eclectic and engaging work in Brisbane with this Triennial than I did in Italy. The work this time focused on some key areas such as kinetic energy, issues of personal identity, the environment, displacement and globalisation. 

The one phrase I wrote down when I entered the foyer space at GOMA this year was....
'Public space + collective experience' 
and I think that's what all the works were really about. 
Protest, sharing of information, and a want of acceptance and acknowledgement of our histories - both past and present. 

Great show.
I didnt take many pics but here are a few that made it onto my phone.


Massive mural charcoal drawing by Indian artist Prabhakar Pachpute in the GOMA foyer
created in a couple of days before the exhibition opened

Min Thein Sungs amazing sculptural installation at GOMA.
He is from Myanmar and this work was all about the oppression in his country
and how people made their own toys using everyday materials

Mural drawing in the Queensland Art Gallery by an Indian artist

This amazing multimedia installation by Nicolas Mole (Kanak Peoples/New Caledonia)
was one of my favourite artworks.
It was made in collaboration with artists and performers from New Caledonia

My mate Amelia taking photos of the massive installation of 1000 Venetian blinds
that was in the Queensland art gallery waterfall foyer
by artist Haegue Yang (South Korea)



It was hard to take pics of these stunning photos by Taloi Havini + Stuart Miller
that represent the Hako people and the environmental concerns of  Bougainville.
I loved this series of works...

Amazing SaVage K'lub created by New Zealand artist Rosanna Raymond


A couple of pics of the HUGE installation of paintings, sculptures, drawings and everything else in between ...
by three artists - Ramin Haerizadeh (Iran/UAE), Rokni Haerizadeh (Iran/UEA), Hesam Rahmanian (USA,UEA)
The whole thing was mad, absurd, DADA and funny...

Beautiful work by Joe Ngallametta in QAG.
It wasnt a part of the Triennial but I loved it anyway

Three galleries in three months and three times ive found the work of Vincent Namadjira exhibited!
This man's work is going to be huge! 

Had to finish with this colouring in table at QAG
Amelia and I spent a little while here creating patterns with the other kids and parents at the gallery
The program is events of kids at the Asia Pacific Triennial is always brilliant! 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

It's truly eye-opening to read about how some of the work have back stories and aren't just something someone made out of the junk in the storage rooms for fun.