Nov 25 2015

Photo Blog: Asia Pacific Triennial 8

by Michael Young

The Asia Pacific Triennial (APT), held at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), is the institution’s flagship event that spotlights artworks from across Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Over 600 works have been acquired by QAGOMA through APT since the exhibition series started in 1993. With a tight, short speech, which mentioned all 29 or so sponsors—including Audi, the event’s principal sponsor, whose managing director drew elusive parallels between art, innovation and design—QAGOMA director Chris Saines launched the eighth edition of APT (APT8) on November 20, his first since being appointed to his position in 2013.

With over 80 artists from more than 30 countries, including Mongolia, Nepal, Tibet, Georgia, Myanmar, the Kyrgyz Republic and India, APT8 marks a definite shift in QAGOMA’s focus, as it expands its horizons along cultural fault lines rather than exclusively geographic ones. The exhibition itself is full of surprises—with a strong showing of works by indigenous, and often dispossessed, groups from across the Asia-Pacific region, including incredibly alluring work by the Mongolian, Tibetan, Nepalese and Cambodian contingents, who use traditional iconography to explore contemporary themes.

This year’s edition comprises a wider program than previous iterations, including APT8 Live, a series of performances that runs on weekends for the duration of the festival, and a stronger emphasis on APT8 Kids, which features 12 interactive works conceived and created by participating artists especially for children.

QAGOMA is an institution that knows its audience and the APT has become one of the region’s most vibrant art extravaganza, bringing locals into the gallery space in droves. During the opening weekend 32,000 visitors came through the doors and Saines expects numbers for the complete run to top half a million people. APT8 is, according to Saines, a “strong commitment to art now" and represents "the art of today.”

Below is a selection of photographs from APT8.

HAEGUE YANG, Sol LeWitt Upside Down – Open Modular Cubes (Small) Expanded 943 Times, 2015. In this
site-specific installation, several hundred venetian blinds occupy Queensland Art Gallery’s water-mall site. As the
light changes throughout the day, the configuration of the blinds take on different shapes. All photos by Michael Young
for ArtAsiaPacific.

Australian artist BROOK ANDREW‘s six-part installation Time, 2012, and other gallery works have been hung against Andrew’s indigenous patterns painted directly on the space’s walls.

Wall mural by VENKAT RAMAN SINGH SHYAM, who belongs to the Pardhan Gond people, one of the largest indigenous groups in India. The artist uses intricate design, storytelling and symbols from nature, such as trees and animals, that have meanings rooted in folktales and Gond culture. Traditionally, Gond paintings were produced on the walls of individual dwellings and expressed one’s religious beliefs.

MING WONG, Aku Akan Bertahan / I Will Survive, 2015, video still from a mixed-media installation. For this work, the artist has transposed figures taken from classic Australian movies, including Walkabout (1971) and Priscilla Queen of the Desert (1994), into the natural landscape of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

MIN THEIN SUNG, Another Realm (horses), from the “Another Realm” series (2015). These giant horses are inspired by the toys that children make in Myanmar and celebrate their creativity and imagination.

TSHERIN SHERPA, Lucid Dream (Blue), 2015, ink and acrylic with gold and platinum leaf on
cotton and canvas.

SATYANARAYAN SUTHAR, Untitled (Kaavad shrine), 2015. Suthar learned to make these shrines from his father and other family members. The door panels are painted to tell the tale of the Ramayana, an important story for the Hindu people. The work also describes the artist’s own life in a small village.

KALYAN JOSHI, Holi festival (Fagh), 2015, detail of a phad painting, which illustrates Hindu stories and teachings and is considered a deeply sacred practice.

ROSANNA RAYMOND, SaVAge K’lub, 2010– . An installation activated through the presence of Pacific artists
and local communities. The work’s title refers to a London gentlemen’s club from the late 19th century. The “VA”
in SaVAge refers to the Samoan philosophical understanding of space as being “active” and not empty. The room-like
installation is full of artifacts from museum storerooms that articulate Pacific culture.

ATMA DAS MANIKPURA, BHAGAT RAM RAJAWAR, DAROGA RAM, ROOKMANI BAI and PARBARTIBAI SARTHI. The remote village of Puhputra in Chhattisgarh, India, is known for being the home of this small group of artists, who have developed a unique sculptural tradition. Musicians, dancers and men ploughing fields are all everyday moments that the artists encounter within their lives.

JUSTIN SHOULDER and BHENJI RA, performing as part of APT8 Live. The duo works in performance,
photography and video within the context of Sydney’s queer performance scene. Here they have created a hybrid
video-costume-sculpture and live performance installation based on queer ancestral mythological stories, which
draw on the duo’s shared Filipino heritage.

CHOI JEONG HWA, is recognized for his inflatable sculptures and large-scale, brightly colored installations
that utilize everyday objects. Here two works occupy the same space, with the beaded strands of Cosmos, 2015,
suspended above The Mandala of Flowers, 2015, as part of the QAGOMA Children’s Art project.

NGE LAY, The Sick Classroom, 2013, made from 27 wooden sculptures and timber accessories. The Burmese
artist’s ongoing project seeks to establish a program in remote schools that engage children with contemporary
art in Myanmar. This installation offers a glimpse into life in one such rural school.