1997
1997
Patterning: In Contemporary Art, Layers of Meaning
This exhibition explored the use of patterning in a variety of traditional cultures in Australia in contemporary visual practice, including the relationship between decoration, ritual and function. It was seen as an idea that could work well for anothernew model in curatorial collaboration where the Australian exhibition was met by an equivalent local version curated autonomously in each country. This would provide a specific local context for audiences and media, and allow for more meaningful dialogue between the participants.
The most significant ‘matching’ was in Indonesia where curator Jim Supangkat oversaw a major selection of work to parallel the Australian imagery. The exhibition opening in Yogyakarta took place despite rioting in the streets due to the political situation, with 200 people attending. Asialink was told by people in Yogyakarta that it was important the opening went ahead, to demonstrate the value of culture even in times of political trouble.
Curator: Merryn Gates
Artists: Vivienne Binns, Fassih Keiso, Damon Moon and Steven Goldate, Munupi Arts and Crafts Association, David Sequeira, Jaishree Srinivasan, Wilma Tabacco, Sara Thorn, Constanze Zikos
Partner: Canberra School of Art Gallery, Canberra
Tour: Manila, Lahore, Canberra, Yogyakarta, Ubud, Bandung, Jakarta (1997-1998)
Sense/Duration of Sense
Sense was an exhibition exchange project between Whanki Museum, Seoul, and the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, where two artists from each country showed in turn at their partner’s institution. Rather than joint artwork or a joint exhibition, it was a literal exchange, but one that built relationships and understanding in a different way. Four small bilingual catalogues, boxed together, were produced, a good example of the individual artists work being able to be presented by itself and in the context of the whole project.
Curators: Stuart Koop (Australia), Jae-Young Kang (Korea)
Artists: Australia: Fiona Foley, Geoff Lowe Korea: Kyung-Hee Shin, Ki-Won Park
Partners: Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne / Whanki Museum, Seoul
Tour: Seoul, Melbourne (1997)
Other Stories: Five Australian Artists
Other Stories presented the work of five major Australian artists who tell stories. The focus was planned as a response to the interest in narrative in South Asia, with the reflection of, in this case, Australia being ‘the other’. With this in mind, Les Murray’s long poem The Idyll Wheel: Cycle of a Year at Bunyah, New South Wales was included in the catalogue and had an excellent response from the audience in its own right.
The exhibition followed Body and Soul, Aurora and Patterning as the fourth exhibition prepared for the 1997 Year of South Asia. The majority of the seven-city tour was in South Asia, with Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan important venues, as was the less frequently visited venue of Kathmandu, where 500 guests, including the Prime Minister and ‘most cabinet ministers’ attended the opening.
The exhibition was Australia’s contribution to the 1997 Bangladesh Biennale in Dhaka, which provided a huge audience of locals and also international artists and delegates, as well as a Gold Prize for Hossien Valamanesh. The Biennale is regional, of Asian work (including the Middle East), and the positive response to Australia’s work has led to many further efforts by Asialink to respond to their requests for involvement.
Curator: Alison Carroll
Artists: Rosalie Gascoigne, Fiona Hall, Mike Parr, Rosslynd Piggott, Hossein Valamanesh
Tour: Dhaka, Kathmandu, Hanoi, Colombo, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad (1997-1998)
Giao Luu/Confluence: An Exhibition of Australian & Vietnamese Artists with Common Links
A further example of exhibition collaboration initiated by Asialink was Giao Luu, where all the artists, from both Australia and Vietnam, had had some contact with the other country, meeting, talking, travelling, engaging in each other’s culture in some way. Led by Ian Were, working with Nguyen Xuan Tiep, the opening in Hanoi demonstrated the palpable interest and goodwill created through these connections. The idea of this exhibition complimented the celebration at the time of 25 years of Australia-Vietnam relations. ‘This exhibition tells the story of people meeting over the last few years through their experiences as artists in each others' countries. This exhibition enables us to participate in the journey which these artists have made’ (Lisa Filipetto, Australian Consul General, Ho Chi Minh City).
Curator: Ian Were, with Nguyen Xuan Tiep
Artists: Australia: Donal Fitzpatrick, Helga Groves, Ian Howard, Geoff Lowe and Jacqueline Riva, Katy Munson, Debra Porch, Julie Shiels Vietnam: Dang Thi Khue, Do Minh Tam, Nguyen Luong Tieu Bach, Nguyen Minh Thanh, Nguyen Thu, Nguyen Xuan Tiep, Truong Tan, Vu Dan Tan,
Partners: Performance Space, Sydney / Object Magazine, Sydney
Tour: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (1997)