Asia Pacific Triennial - Take 2

At the weekend I joined a friend for a second visit to QuaGoma  to see APT8 again. As it was also her repeat visit, she was able to ensure that I didn't miss any of her favourites.

These are some of the photographs I took during our visit. Where possible I have listed the artist and title of the works – others will require another visit to check on the details. 

The figurative sculptures by Francis Upritchard - the lighting here was wonderful. 

Detail - Action Francis Upritchard

Uuriintuya Dagvasambuu / Path to wealth 2013 / Synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Another Realm by Min Thein Sung 

These giant horses are made from linen and hang from the ceiling like puppets. The surrounding walls are papered with comic book pages. Now I do like people but I was lucky enough to get a few photos with no people near the horses. They are really huge and dwarfed any children standing nearby.

Detail - Hit Man Gurung

The exhibit by Hit Man Gurung documents the migration of young Nepalese men to work in foreign countries. He often wears his yellow hard hat as seen in the detail. The monochromatic face with only colour in the eyes created a compelling image. 

When subject is taken out of context or when its context is altered, the subject takes on a completely new personality. So too with the galleries housing the permanent Australian Collection. 

A totally different environment has been created in the three Australian Collection Galleries. Brook Andrews’ trademark chevron markings have been applied to the original wall colours. These reference the chevron pattern that Wiradjuri people paint on their skin, or carve into trees.The red/black in the first gallery is very dramatic. I loved the portrait in the excessively ornate frame against the graphic lines of the chevrons. The juxtaposition of the different narratives - colonial, traditional and representational against the abstract, graphic (and also traditional indigenous) markings made one view the works in a new way. 

Visiting the Art Galleries - APT 8

Last week the first day of the holidays started with a visit to the dentist my grandchildren. When the children were asked what they were going to do afterwards they said "We're going to the Art Gallery". The dentist's reply made me sad. He said he had never been to an art gallery - ever. I realised that for many people an art gallery is something completely outside their experience.

One of the things that I love about living in Brisbane is that the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art - QuaGoma have such a creative approach to exhibitions. There's always something magical going on, and always something that both children and adults will love. Over the summer holidays there's always a biggie with lots to enjoy for all ages. This summer it's the Asia Pacific Triennial 8.

On the drive to the gallery the children remembered how much they enjoyed some previous exhibitions. - this is a link to a post about these.
I was asked - “Are we going to see the spotty room? (Yayoi Kusama's The Obliteration Room here a white room was transformed with hundreds of coloured spots) Or maybe it’s the Sugar room?" (We miss you magic land 2011 - a fairy tale world created with sugar crystals). 

We would just have to see what was in store for us; perhaps today's visit will be as memorable.

                             Mandala of Flowers - an installation by Choi Jeong Hwa

The Mandala of Flowers is an installation by Choi Jeong Hwa. Viewed from the upper level one is transported into a different world. Down below a carpeted circle is covered with hundreds of coloured discs of different sizes.

A riot of Colour

Wait - discs? Lids - these are all just lids, different sizes of plastic lids - so simple but how the space is transformed. Children are encouraged to create mandala-like shapes with the coloured shapes.

Playing with Shadows

We only read the instructions as we were leaving so didn't keep to the suggestion to make a mandala but it didn't matter. The children had fun and spent ages creating a Christmas tree and a reindeer from the coloured lids. It was surprising to realise how long they were busy - my photos show the finished creations 40 minutes later. 

 

We wandered through the other exhibits making our way to GOMA and lunch. The Long Gallery has an installation that is both sculpture and sound effects. Surprised kids climbing on the sleeper structure were greeted with booming sounds - such fun. 

Everyday Whispers in the GOMA River Room has a booth where they whispered wishes to be added to the secret sound cloud. The collected wishes are played through a bank of speakers suspended from the ceiling. As you walk underneath the wishes float down.

There's so much to see that I'll definitely be back for another visit or two. APT kids have at least a dozen different activities - more than one day could easily be spent here. There's much for adults to enjoy as well. It's an ideal place to escape the heat of the Brisbane summer. You might just have a struggle to find parking so coming by bus or train is recommended. The exhibition is on until April and it's free.