Biennale of Sydney lecture with David Elliot and Invited Artists
In true collaborative fashion, on Saturday, March 20th and as part of Art Month, the Biennale of Sydney hosted a lecture with artistic director David Elliot and a select panel of artists, in donated venue Artspace. Wilkin Hill’s Windows impersonating other windows provided an interesting backdrop for the discussion, which featured Newell Harry, Michaela Dwyer, and Warren Fahey, in addition to Elliot. The artistic director of The Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age kicked off the talk with a brief overview of his curatorial intention for the show. He explains that “The Beauty of Distance” means something different to everyone and that’s okay with him. It refers to critical and aesthetic distance, the output of the artist and their critical distance and proximity to their own work or the proximity of the viewer to the work etc. “Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age” speaks to the idea that all art is folk art, made by people, for people. He explains further that these considerations are important, particularly because of the cultural significance of indigenous art in Australia. He says he’s often asked why he is not showing “so-called indigenous art,” his deadpan retort is “all art is folk art” a brilliantly democratic approach to his focused curatorial direction. Elliot wastes no time introducing his panel and engaging in conversation with them. Newell Harry talked about his sculptural works, while Michaela Dwyer and Warren Fahey described their installation works that will be featured in the Biennale. Newell’s works uses vernacular in the form of anagrams, and wordplay, in order to produce multiple meanings. Combining ideas about topics as vast as trade roots of languages, issues of identity, exile and family. Dwyer will be exhibiting an installation that combines sculptural works made from sandstone with a sound installation, conjuring up the “ghostly” spirits of Cockatoo Island, while Fahey, similar to the William Kentridge installation from the last Biennale, will encapsulate an entire space with film projections that reference the history of Cockatoo Island. Both artists are embarking on socio-cultural investigations, using site-specific artworks. For the talk, we assisted Nisa Maskie in setting up seating for 70 guests, greeted guests at the door and checked RSVPs, liaised with the Artspace staff (in order to ensure that we were following protocol at the donated venue), answered questions as they arose and assisted in breaking everything down and helped to restore the gallery space to its original condition when the talk was finished. It was very exciting to participate, even if only on a cursory level to begin with, in a team endeavor and find a small place in the inner workings of one of Sydney’s foremost cultural institutions – the Biennale of Sydney. I am looking forward to more such opportunities to liaise with important contemporary artists and curatorial luminaries in the Sydney art scene. A great start, to an excellent internship opportunity with the Education and Public Programs department at BoS.
