Alistair Trung, Collection, 2003-2004.
Home and Away
02 May 2005
Anodised, non-wearable jewellery, an installation emulating ancient Korean pottery designs and knitted works inspired by Chinese gardens are some of the many pieces on display as part of Echoes of Home: Memory and Mobility. The exhibition showcases the art practices of 14 Australian-based, Asian artists and craft-makers. Many of those participating in the show, like Indonesia’s Dadang Christanto and Laos’ Savanhdary Vongpoothorn have developed enviable reputations, winning support from commercial galleries as well as the country’s major art institutions.
Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Campbell Newman says that Echoes of Home: Memory and Mobility aims to counteract the misplaced idea that Asian art is a culturally homogenous enterprise. “Asian cultures have always played a role in Australia’s cultural history and in recent years these cultures have been an important influence on Australian visual culture – particularly in contemporary craft.
“Echoes of Home acknowledges this contribution and shows the vast cultural diversity of the region,” Newman says, “Many of these contemporary works utilise traditional techniques to tell their stories, which range from Australia’s landscape to Asian medicine.”
Drawing on the artists’ own stories and experiences, the exhibition reveals a diverse range of work across various media, with ceramics, textiles, fibre works, fashion, work on paper, jewellery, sculpture and painting on display. A multimedia presentation is also running in conjunction with the exhibition, outlining the personal stories of those artists whose work is featured in the show.
One of the artists exhibiting as part of Echoes of Home, Dadang Christanto, has recently shown his profound and primeval installation They give evidence at the Art Gallery of NSW. The large-scale work is a compelling plea against inhumanity. The 16 sculptures of male and female figures represent displaced victims, mutely carrying the bodies of innocent men, women and children who have been killed. The installation is a testament to the inhumanity of man, and functions as a silent monument to communal grief.
Echoes of Home is taking place in Space 1 on the Ann Street side of City Hall and coincides with three other MoB exhibitions: Brisbane Buddhas, Inflame my Heart and Face Value: Video Portraiture from the Pacific.
More Information
Echoes of Home: Memory and Mobility
6 May – 21 August
Museum of Brisbane, City Hall, King George Square
Details: (07) 3403 8888
Website: http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/MoB/
