2020, 2020-21, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 301 x 546cm. Photo: Mark Ashkanasy. Courtesy the artist and Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne.© Juan Davila
Niño de Elche & Pedro G. Romero (Spain) are creating a sound installation for the 24th Biennale of Sydney, building on a collaboration which examines and reframes traditional flamenco music. Combining de Elche’s training as a cantaor (flamenco singer) and Romero’s accomplishments as a visual artist and filmmaker, the duo will produce a ‘map’ of sound that charts antipodean connection and Old Galleon Trade routes.
Other works at the Chau Chak Wing Museum for the Biennale of Sydney are:
An archival video of poet and artist Diane Burns (Anishinaabe/Chemehuev, USA, 1956-2006) reciting her beat poem Alphabet City Serenade. An Indigenous artist, Burns became a member of the Lower East Side poetry community in the 1980s. Recorded for television, Alphabet City Serenade repudiates the effects of capitalism and gentrification on downtown New York City, where Burns lived and worked.
Photography by William Yang (Australia), known for his depictions of Australia’s queer scene in the late 1970s and 1980s. With a practice spanning more than five decades, Yang’s repertoire includes theatre performances using spoken word, slide projection and music.
Paintings by Martin Wong (USA, 1946-1999), a renowned countercultural voice who wove narratives of queer existence, marginal communities and urban gentrification during the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Wong’s practice merged Chinese iconography, urban poetry, carceral (relating to prison) aesthetics and sign language. It also drew on the Latin American community he was closely involved with.
Paintings by Juan Davila (Chile/Australia), who uses the medium to debate aesthetics, politics and sexuality. Davila draws on the rich and varied histories in Latin America, Australia, Europe and North America.
“We’re incredibly proud to bring such diverse artists to the museum as a first-time partner to Sydney’s most global visual arts events,” said Michael Dagostino, Director of Museums and Cultural Engagement at the University of Sydney.
“The museum opened in 2020 with the intention of better maintaining and displaying the University of Sydney’s vast collections but also to host national and international exhibitions of the highest calibre. We’re confident our partnership will further establish the Chau Chak Wing Museum as an important part of Sydney’s cultural landscape.”
The museum is one of seven locations hosting this year’s Biennale of Sydney, alongside the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Opera House, White Bay Power Station, UNSW Galleries, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Artspace.
