During my first sojourn in Paris in the spring of 1960 I went to Montmartre, the site where the Paris Commune started in 1871.

A few days later I went to the Pere Lachaise cemetery where some of the heroic Communards were buried.

Those two visits moved me deeply.

I made a painting in honour of the Communards.

I learned that the day when the Paris Commune was founded, the First of May, is commonly called the Day of the Cherries.

In 2010 to celebrate the Paris Commune I took two fresh cherries and I went inside the Louvre.

Held up by two young men, I placed the cherries with white dry glue paste on the nipples of the Venus de Milo.

A few years later, when Adam Nankervis and I were in Montmartre, we created an impromptu performance using masks with cherries in Homage to the Paris Commune.

I dream some day people wearing masks will go from Montmartre to the Louvre and cover the Venus de Milo with cherries.

David Medalla

David Medalla is a unique figure in the history of twentieth-century art. His unpredictable and playful approach to art-making has made him difficult to categorise, but he is increasingly recognised as a significant figure in the development of participatory art, creating objects and situations that can never be repeated and continually change.

The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT)
is the Gallery’s flagship exhibition focused on the work of Asia, the Pacific and Australia.
21 November 2015 – 10 April 2016

Exhibition Founding Sponsor: Queensland Government
Exhibition Principal Sponsor: Audi Australia