The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Seventy artists, collectives and projects from more than 30 countries will feature in the 11th chapter of the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) flagship exhibition series, the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.

Artists including Dana Awartani, Brett Graham, D Harding, Mit Jai Inn, Kikik Kollektive, Saodat Ismailova, Dawn Ng, Yeung Tong Lung and Haus Yuriyal will continue the Asia Pacific Triennial’s commitment to representing the region’s most dynamic and exciting contemporary art.

QAGOMA Director, Chris Saines CNZM, said the much-anticipated Asia Pacific Triennial had showcased an evolving mix of the most important developments in contemporary art from across Australia, Asia and the Pacific for more than three decades.

“The Triennial will include works produced across vast geographies and cultural contexts, offering audiences a multiplicity of experiences, perspectives and diverse approaches to both contemporary and community-based customary art practices,” Mr Saines said.

Developed and researched by QAGOMA’s specialist Asian and Pacific curatorial team, with collaboration from co-curators and interlocutors in the region, this Triennial will feature over 500 artworks including major new commissions by artists Jasmine Togo-Brisby, Kawita Vatanajyankur, Trương Công Tùng, Paemanu Contemporary Art Collective, Aunofo Havea Funaki and the Lepamahanga Women’s Group, Mele Kahalepuna Chun and Mai Nguyễn-Long.

Tarun Nagesh, Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art, QAGOMA said this Triennial would introduce four co-curated projects highlighting contemporary art from Nepal; the region of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines; the Arnarvon Islands in the Solomon Islands; and Torba Province of Vanuatu.

“Artists in the exhibition consider knowledge in its many forms, following thematic threads such as care for natural and urban environments, intergenerational experiences of migration and labour, and nuanced approaches to storytelling, materials and technique,” Mr Nagesh said.

Among the many highlights will be: 

A vibrant multi-part project by Haus Yuriyal, a collective of 28 artists living and working in Jiwaka/Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea, led by Brisbane-based artist Yuriyal Eric Bridgeman. Kuman (fighting shields) paintings, carved tree fern sculptures, embroideries and a range of innovative bilum designs will be shown alongside a video picture house and a lush harvest garden in QAG’s sculpture courtyard.

Leading Thai artist Mit Jai Inn’s three-dimensional installation reimagining painting and abstraction in a dramatic interactive environment on the QAG Watermall. With suspended tunnels, cascading curtains and towering scroIls, the work will encourage visitors to enter and explore its maze-like structures.

An evocative installation of monumental sculptures and video by Aotearoa New Zealand artist Brett Graham. Occupying the full length of GOMA’s Long Gallery, Tai Moana Tai Tangata will represent the relationship between Taranaki and Tainui Māori and the pact of solidarity they forged during the New Zealand Wars.

A large-scale mural by Kikik Kollektive from Iloilo Province in the central Philippines. Tul-an sang aton kamal-aman (Bones of our elders) will reframe the stories that have formed the history and culture of Iloilo, depicting a sinuous serpent deity associated with the moon alongside imagery of local figures, community traditions, ancient cultivation practices and spiritual beliefs.

Standing by the Ruins, a stunning floor-based installation by Dana Awartani (Saudi Arabia/Palestine) combining the artist’s knowledge of Islamic geometry and craft techniques with tropes of Arabic ruin poetry to address war, cultural destruction and healing.

A mesmerising new multi-channel video installation by Singaporean artist Dawn Ng, capturing a timelapse of a large sculptural block of frozen pigment melting and disintegrating sublimely representing the ephemerality of time, beauty, destruction, love and loss.

Innovative portraits of everyday life in Hong Kong by senior painter Yeung Tong Lung, deploying unusual perspectives with an affectionate eye for detail. The paintings range from intimate vignettes to an epic 20-metre, multi-panel panoramic view of the city.

Five Asia Pacific Triennial Cinema programs exploring central Asian cinema and futurism on screen, alongside comprehensive career surveys of prominent film directors Tsai Ming-liang, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Kamila Andini. A live music and film event with composer and musician Eiko Ishibashi will be supported by Presenting Partner Crumpler.

For the full artist list and media information visit here.

The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art is made possible with the support of Founding Supporter the Queensland Government and Principal Partner Creative Australia.

This Asia Pacific Triennial is also supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland’s Major Events program; Principal Benefactor Haymans Electrical; Asia Pacific Triennial Kids Principal Benefactor Tim Fairfax Family Foundation; Major Partners Shayher Group, Urban Art Projects and Crumpler and Grantor the Office for the Arts, part of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.

The full list of supporter acknowledgments is available online.