APT8 opens in Brisbane

 

The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) is the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art’s flagship exhibition focussed on the work of Asia, the Pacific and Australia. This eighth edition includes more than 80 artists and groups. Two focus projects are the result of in-depth research and ongoing exchange with the region. Yumi Danis (We Dance) presents the vitality and complexity of performance in the cultures of some of our nearest neighbours: Papua, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Kalpa Vriksha: Contemporary Indigenous and Vernacular Art of India looks at the breadth and vibrancy of Indigenous and vernacular art from regions of India. Also featured are site-specific installations by artists from UAE/Iran, India, South Korea, Myanmar, Australia and New Zealand.

With highlights including a major installation of salvaged Queensland timber by Indian artist Asim Waqif, and a major new work by South Korean artist Haegue Yang consisting of 1000 venetian blinds suspended elegantly in the iconic Watermall, works by leading international contemporary artists will be revealed tomorrow when ‘The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT8) opens.

The APT8 will explore the role of performance in recent art, and how the human form expresses cultural, social and political concerns. APT has always responded to individual and collective artistic achievement. The rapid evolution of contemporary art practice in Asia and the Pacific has brought about APT8’s focus on performance and the body’s ability to tell stories and communicate ideas. APT8 has seen Gallery curators travel to and explore art from countries not previously included in the series such as Mongolia, Nepal, the Kyrgyz Republic and Georgia.

APT8 Live, the first program of its type at the Gallery, will see key exhibition spaces and activities activated at regular intervals throughout the duration of the exhibition period, giving performance an emphatic presence. APT8 Live runs monthly from the opening weekend until the closing weekend (9 and 10 April).

The Gallery’s program for young visitors and their families continues with APT8 Kids, a range of hands-on, drawing and multimedia activities created by exhibiting artists. Among 12 projects, children can adorn their own poncho-like garment called a tiputa, contribute to a large-scale virtual drawing by maneuvering a digital car, and record their own whispered wish to be projected through speakers suspended from the Gallery’s ceiling.

A children’s book featuring activities to complete at home or in the classroom accompanies the APT8 Kids onsite offering and a touring program will see a selection of the exhibition activities presented to children and families in regional and remote Queensland.

The APT8 publication features a suite of richly illustrated essays by the exhibition’s curators providing insights into artists’ practices and drawing connections between works from across the region. These are contextualised with a discussion by a group of leading artists and specialists on key issues behind recent tendencies in contemporary art in the Asia Pacific. The publication also includes details of the Kids APT and cinema programs, and a comprehensive exhibition checklist.

‘The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ runs until 10 April 2016. Entry to the exhibition, related cinema programs and the opening weekend is free.

Khvay SamnangRubber Man, 2014Digital C-Print80 x 120 cm,Edition of 2/3
Khvay Samnang, Cambodia b.1982 / Rubber Man 2014 / Inkjet print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper 308gsm, ed.2/3 / Purchased 2015. Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery / © The artist

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

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