53rd International Art Exhibition LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 1

Commissioner’s Foreword

When Shaun Gladwell returned from dealing with reflections that are personal, from a range of sources – government, western New South in early 2009 cultural and environmental. corporate, individual and philanthropic – he had accumulated images that were to where none sits as mutually exclusive from Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro’s massive signal an extension to his work that was the other, conspicuous in its commitment. installation consumes the chapel of the included in the exhibition Think with the Ludoteca – its monumentalism and its I gratefully acknowledge the generous Senses – Feel with the Mind at the stillness are like a memento mori as it assistance of our many public and private Biennale 2007. For Venice 2009 Shaun alludes to transience and impermanence. funding partners. I also warmly thank the is our artist for the Australian Pavilion. Vernon Ah Kee’s work represents themes artists, Tania Doropoulos (project manager Shaun’s involvement with the landscape of contemporary social and cultural politics, for Shaun Gladwell) and Felicity Fenner – and urban spaces – holds recognition of of Indigenous exclusion. But here the modern (curator for Once Removed) for their dedication the sense of place we Australians have in the representation of this exclusion is explored and commitment to presenting Australia’s history of our nation’s art. But his inquiring through long-standing emblematic symbols exhibitions at the 2009. temperament and his keen interest in the that are representative of white Australian Doug Hall AM role of the culture of his own generation culture. In viewing Ken Yonetani’s installation Commissioner in contemporary life – both its ideas and it is impossible not to think of environmental participants – are indicative of the reach beauty or to feel for its vulnerability. Doug Hall AM is the former Museum Director of his imagination. He has transformed the for the Art Gallery where he was Four very different Australian artists in Venice responsible for the creation of the Gallery Pavilion into a personal tableau that explores mark our community’s commitment of Modern Art and the Asia-Pacific Triennial his unique sense of allegory – of place and to a now well-established pattern of supporting of Contemporary Art. time – which includes the artist himself as Australian culture in an international context. central to its iconographic presence. And this is prompted by the warm reception Venice is important to contemporary Australian and keen critical interest in ; art. It is an inspiring context in which our something also enjoyed by architecture, cultural introspection – the things we value – literature, film and music. As with other is seen in an international context and given participants in Venice, this positive attention over to an enthusiastic public every two years. takes place in an environment where vainglory and nationalism are cast aside and where the Again, as in recent years, Australia’s presence emphasis on the value we have in our artists in Venice continues beyond its Pavilion. The is pre-eminent. nearby Ludoteca is the second venue and each of the artists exhibiting there has, in Australia’s participation in the Venice Biennale remarkably different ways, produced work reflects the nature of support for the arts 2 Australia 53rd International Art Exhibition 4 Australia 53rd International LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 5 Art Exhibition

Shaun Gladwell

MADDESTMAXIMVS – manner, performing freestyle skateboarding movement, and to reveal the subtle nuances Planet & Stars Sequence 2009 on the foreshore, as storm clouds gather and essential qualities of his performers’ and the ocean wallows and crashes (an act activities. This continues to result in poetic, of ‘picturing turbulence’ as the artist later hypnotic and meditative representations that Shaun Gladwell’s MADDESTMAXIMVS, described it). open the activities themselves to a wide range in the Australian pavilion for the 2009 of readings. Venice Biennale, brings together the Key elements that have developed through artist’s trademark slowed-footage video Gladwell’s subsequent practice were already In a short period of time Gladwell’s moving- produced two-channel video. Projected on human skull (Endoscopic Vanitas, 2009); approaches. Heat, and in particular dust, installations of figures undertaking acts of apparent in his early video works. Most image installations have become more finely either side of a suspended screen, the work and the latest of Gladwell’s ongoing series of distort the view. A helmeted figure in black physical virtuosity, with sculptural works crucially, the works pictured (or took the honed as sculptural studies of both bodily effectively links both levels of the Pavilion. Planet and Stars Sequence projects, involving emerges from inside the moving car through and interventions into the fabric of the viewpoint of) figures performing in outdoor, experience and the physics of gravity, motion Apology to Roadkill (1–6) (2007–2009) pictures both footage (Planet and Stars Sequence: the side window, slowly mounts the roof of the Pavilion itself. The result is a project rich in public spaces, on one hand disrupting – in particular centrifugal energy – and cyclical a black-helmeted motorcycle rider stopping to Barrier Highway, 2009) and residue (Absolute vehicle and stands upright. Every nuance of visual experience and conceptual interplay the social and architectural functions and time. Certainly, this formal circularity – a sense tenderly examine and cradle the carcasses of Event Horizon, 2009) of an aerosol- his movement is emphasised in slow-motion, between elements. Developed over a two- conventions of those spaces, on the other of the body in perpetual motion – has become grey kangaroos. These major video works are work undertaken by the artist kneeling on the transforming a potentially dangerous act into a year period, MADDESTMAXIMVS marks physically articulating their own experiences a central motif of Gladwell’s video work. This is joined by significant sculptural interventions shoulder of an outback highway. formal study in physical virtuosity as the body a shift from Gladwell’s earlier focus upon of place. This has continued over the past represented with a new intensity in Gladwell’s into the pavilion itself: the motorbike from embraces and balances the elemental forces of Each of these pieces is a major work in its urban environments and engages instead decade as Gladwell has worked with various MADDESTMAXIMVS project, in which the artist Apology to Roadkill (1–6) embedded into velocity and gravity that draw it deeper into the own right. They share the space of the Pavilion in a performative, personal exploration of performers – not just in Australia but also in shifts focus to the richly redolent Australian the outside wall of the Pavilion to create Australian hinterland. that is itself treated by the artist as a form of the boundaries and possibilities of a human Brazil, Europe, Japan, Korea and outback, entering a long-standing set of a protrusion in the inner skin of the space; sculptural vessel, conveying a coherent yet Dr. Blair French relationship to the Australian hinterland. At the – picturing physical disciplines associated in discourses regarding land, place and space in and an especially constructed, functioning vigorously associative expression of a place same time, MADDESTMAXIMVS also looks part with youth and street cultures. Australian culture. 1:1 ‘sculptural’ replica of the famous V8 Dr. Blair French is Executive Director, Artspace a world removed from the Giardini. In this at differing experiences of time and being, ‘Interceptor’ car driven by Mel Gibson’s Visual Arts Centre, . The conceptual rigor and visual formalism Begun in earnest in 2007, MADDESTMAXIMVS context no single work dominates any other, in particular through the relationship of the ‘Max’ character in Mad Max 1 and 2. of Gladwell’s video works has ensured that takes its local cues from sources as varied human body to its immediate environment. but located as it is at the centre of the Pavilion, they never function as simple glorifications as Sidney Nolan’s ‘drought’ and The Venice Pavilion project is completed by to be viewed from both sides and so requiring Gladwell’s first video exhibitions featured of urban street practices such as skating or director George Miller’s Mad Max film trilogy, a new multi-channel video work – Centred the viewer to return, approach and circle it works that pictured the artist himself tracing subsequently BMX riding, break-dancing, and is an ongoing project under which Pataphysical Suite (2009) – comprising more than once, Interceptor Surf Sequence skateboard passages through Sydney streets, capoeira, taekwondo and the like. From the Gladwell conceives, produces and exhibits a tower of monitors, each featuring the will without doubt linger in one’s memory. ‘kickflipping’ his board at Bondi Beach and outset Gladwell eschewed the fast and furious a variety of works in different configurations image of a different performer spinning on Here a camera tracks the same black V8 ‘surfing’ the water-wall of a newly inaugurated jump-cut editing conventions associated with (these works include photographs, sculptural the spot utilising their particular discipline Interceptor – parked outside the pavilion – public swimming pool and plaza in downtown popular representations of such activities. installations, lithographs and drawings, as (skateboarding, break-dancing, classical along a red dirt road through wide outback Sydney. At this time (2000), Gladwell also shot Instead, his experiments utilised slow motion well as video pieces). Gladwell’s Australian dancing, BMX riding); a sculptural work plains. The sky is vast, in one sequence his celebrated Storm Sequence, in which the and ambient soundscapes to slow time and Pavilion installation features a range of works. incorporating ‘live’ real-time footage on a darkening elementally as a thunderstorm artist is pictured in a slowed, almost balletic concentrate the visual detail of bodies in Interceptor Surf Sequence (2009) is a newly monitor of the inside surface of a rotating

8 Australia 53rd International Art Exhibition 10 Australia 53rd International Art Exhibition

Shaun Gladwell Selected Group Exhibitions Think with the Senses – Feel with the Mind – Art in the Present Tense, 1972 Born Sydney, Australia 2009 RISING TIDE: Film and Video Works 52nd International Art Exhibition, from the MCA Collection, Sydney, 1996 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours First 52nd Venice Biennale, Class), Sydney College of the Arts Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, USA MUTE: Storm Sequence, Bastard, 2001 Masters of (Research), Oslo, Norway College of Fine Arts, University CODE SHARE: 5 continents, Streetworks: Inside Outside Yokohama, of New South Wales, Sydney 10 biennales, 20 artists, Contemporary Art Centre Vilnius (CAC), Lithuania Asialink Touring Project, Chulalongkom 2001–02 Associate Research, Goldsmiths Art Centre, , ; 2008 I/Illegitimate , Museum of Image College, University of , UK Valentine Willies, Kuala Lumpur, and Sound, Sao Paulo, Brazil Represented by Anna Schwartz Gallery Malaysia; Substation, Once Removed Figuring Landscapes, touring, www.annaschwartzgallery.com 2006–07 Wave Front: Australian Contemporary ArtSway, New Forest; Tate Modern, Art Scene, Tokyo Wonder Site, Selected Solo Exhibitions London; Showroom, Sheffield; Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan 2009 Australian Pavilion, 53rd Venice Chapter Arts, ; Brighton Biennale, Italy Cinemateque; Bureau, Salford; 2006 27th Bienal de São Paulo: How to Dundee Contemporary Arts; Live Together, São Paulo, Brazil Vernon Ah Kee 2008 Shaun Gladwell, University Art Gallery, Vivid, Birmingham; FACT Liverpool; University of California, San Diego, USA Busan Biennale 2006: Everywhere, Gallery of Modern Art, Busan Museum of Modern Art, Double Voyage, Anna Schwartz Taipei Biennial, Taipei Fine Arts Busan, South Korea Gallery, Museum, Taiwan Plus Factors, Australian Centre Ken Yonetani Shaun Gladwell, University of Revolutions – forms that turn, for Contemporary Art, Melbourne Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane 2008 , Australia High Tide: New Currents in Art from 2007 MADDESTMAXIMVS, Summer Exhibition: Gallery 8, Australia and New Zealand, Zacheta Sherman Galleries, Sydney curated by Tracey Emin, Royal National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, In a Station of the Metro, Claire Healy & Academy of Art, London, UK Poland; Contemporary Art Centre, Artspace, Sydney Zombie Surfers, cell project space, Vilnius, Lithuania 2006 Shaun Gladwell, Hallwalls London, UK 2005 Yokohama 2005 International Contemporary Arts Centre, Buffalo, Screenings, Artist as Performer: Triennale of Contemporary Art, New York, USA Yokohama, Japan Sean Cordeiro Part II, Haunch of Venison, 2005 Shaun Gladwell: Various Roles, London, UK Space Invaders, Museum Kunsthaus Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane Biennale Cuvée, OK Center, Baselland, Basel, Switzerland MMV BREAKLESS SESSIONS, Linz, Austria 2004 Gridlock: Cities, structures, spaces, The Ludoteca, Castello Sherman Galleries, Sydney 2007–08 Space for Your Future, Museum Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, 2004 New Balance, Institute of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan New Plymouth, NZ of Contemporary Art, Perth 2007 Living the City, Platform 21, re: source, Gallery 6, Art in General, 2003 Silent, Ambient and Harder Remixes, Amsterdam, The Netherlands New York, USA Sherman Galleries, Sydney Southern Panoramas, 16th Flicker , Socrates Sculpture Park, 2001 Recent Projects, Cité Internationale International Electronic Art Festival, Long Island City, New York, USA des Arts, Paris, VIDEOBRASIL, São Paulo, Brazil 2002 The Mind is a Horse, Bloomberg Cycles of Radical Will, Imperial Slacks Bicycle Club, Kordegarda Gallery, Space, London, UK Gallery, Sydney Zacheta National Gallery, 2000 Kickflipping Flâneur, Artspace, Sydney Warsaw, Poland 12 Australia 53rd International LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 13 Art Exhibition

Once Removed

Once Removed is an exhibition of three Perched between Indonesia and New Zealand or in some way different from the norm. Together these works critique society’s installations all referring to aspects of place in the southern Pacific, Australia could not be In the context of Healy and Cordeiro’s voracious consumption and commodification and the predicament of displacement. further removed from the European culture practice, it implies removal and renascence; of objects, places and people. The displacement Interpreting facets of Australia’s environment upon which it was founded. Until relatively the experience of moving between places, inherent to each work’s subject matter is and culture, as well as of the former convent recently, many Australians displayed a packing-up, shifting and recontextualising echoed in the incongruous context of the in which the exhibition is situated, these lamentable lack of interest in Aboriginal, Asian everyday accoutrements that are redolent exhibition site and sometimes by unexpected works reveal differing approaches to place and Pacific cultures. Over the last two decades with personal meaning and memories. In Despite its sparse, serene arrangement, The installations by Ah Kee and Yonetani parallels with Venice itself. Water, for example, and displacement by young Australian however, a politically-led reassessment of Ah Kee’s project, “once removed” makes the installation evokes a post-apocalyptic explore Australian socio-political issues is a key theme in the work of Ah Kee and artists of various ethnic backgrounds. Australia’s place in the world has resulted in obvious postcolonial reference to the mass landscape in which everything is bleached that have global significance beyond national Yonetani. Ah Kee proposes the unlikely a surge of interest from local and international displacement of Aboriginal people (and white and has perished. Here, the excesses borders. The site-specific installation, repossession of the beach and its culture The displacement of individuals, audiences in Aboriginal art, and a new more specifically to the Stolen Generations of life are inextricably tied to self-destruction Life Span, by Healy and Cordeiro, conversely by Australia’s original inhabitants, while communities and entire racial groups is Australian preparedness to engage with the of Aboriginal children), while also speaking and death. Sweet Barrier Reef, for example, gathers the world’s dreams, fears and desires Yonetani’s sugar reef conjures the destruction a global phenomenon, while the feeling of cultures of neighbouring Asian and Pacific of the artist’s own feelings of displacement describes the fatal consequences of using into a neatly ordered stack, devised and of underwater environments brought about being sometimes out of place is one to which nations. Critical frameworks established during from a society that continues to alienate the natural environment as a dumping positioned in response to the distinctive art by human activity. Both works resonate with all individuals can relate. As an emigrant, this period, such as the Asia Pacific Triennial, Indigenous and other racial groups from iconic ground for consumer-driven industry. and architecture of its ecclesiastical Venetian the predicament of Venice, where the physical immigrant or an Indigenous person, each have explored Aboriginal and non-Indigenous aspects of Australian cultural life. Yonetani’s setting. There are 195,774 videos in this environment is endangered by tourists in of the artists exhibiting in Once Removed Vernon Ah Kee’s surf narratives and wall texts art in the context of current visual art practices project explores the disjuncture between towering monolith, their combined viewing their utopian search for a place that is fast has experienced cultural displacement. Sean have a similar imperative to create order from from the region, stimulating a dialogue that humankind and the natural world, underlining time equal to the world’s average human life disappearing. Collectively, the fantastical Cordeiro’s family is from Singapore, and he apparent despair – in his case a pessimism informs much contemporary Australian art the danger of maintaining an existence that is span of 66.1 years. Collectively the content aspect of the works in Once Removed invites and Claire Healy lead a globally itinerant life, that has arisen from racial oppression. Evading practice. Similar reassessments have occurred complacently “once removed” from nature. of this VHS monument ruminates on the a suspension of disbelief, as does Venice currently working between Sydney and Berlin. the familiar visual traditions of Aboriginal art worldwide, as the focus of curators and human condition, on the meaning of life and itself, because things are not as they seem. Vernon Ah Kee, an Aboriginal Australian The formal ordering of elements in the face and adopting instead a conceptual lexicon consumers has moved from the traditional on mortality. This installation disproportionately Intrinsic to all are allusions to what lies beneath with Chinese ancestry, has experienced the of entropy is a device employed by the artists invested with wry humour, Ah Kee removes mainstream to embrace the art of non- commandeers the small church and substitutes the surface, unseen and unfathomable. worst aspects of displacement – racism in Once Removed as they attempt to make the possibility for the kind of cultural pigeon- Western cultures. Australia’s contemporary film for religious doctrine as a vehicle for and ostracism – living in the conspicuously sense of disassociation and displacement. holing that can separate Aboriginal from Felicity Fenner visual arts culture has emerged as central finding quietude and spiritual fulfillment. Anglo-Celtic city of Brisbane. Just six Yonetani’s carefully staged white sugar non-Indigenous art. Anger at the displacement Curator, Once Removed to this shift – at the forefront are artists such The juxtaposition between popular videos years ago, Ken Yonetani immigrated to sculptures are rendered in a language that of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait as Vernon Ah Kee and Ken Yonetani, whose and the church setting serves to heighten Felicity Fenner is the Senior Curator at Australia from Japan with little English. He seeks to codify the damage caused by Islander populations is clearly spelled out here work draws from and comments on their the significance both of the work and of the Ivan Dougherty Gallery, College of Fine Arts, now lives in the mountains west of Sydney. human disengagement from the natural world. in black and white wall texts and in a short University of New South Wales, Sydney. respective Aboriginal and Asian heritages. church, the stack of obsolete media an apt The insight provided by the artists’ various The aesthetic framework for his practice is film depicting Aboriginal surfers reclaiming metaphor not only for society’s contrived experiences of otherness underpins the Beyond the familial reference to relations drawn from Asian culture, particularly cultural the beach – a surreal, fairy-tale scenario in the packaging of experience and emotion, but narratives of these diverse installations. of another generation, the phrase “once traditions that make a spectacle of ordering context of a modern Australia world-renowned also for the ultimate transience of life itself. removed” suggests being remote, separated nature, such as the Japanese Zen garden. for its Caucasian-dominated beach culture. 14 Australia 53rd International LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 15 Art Exhibition

Vernon Ah Kee

Cant Chant Cant Chant (Wegrewhere) proposes an improbable story about Aboriginal surfers reclaiming one of Australia’s most populated beaches. Interspersed with violent allusions to historical executions of Indigenous people, it is a surreal, fairy-tale narrative, given that in modern Australia racial alienation is often most evident in the context of iconic cultural sites, such as the beach.

Biography Born 1967, Innisfail, Australia Lives and works in Brisbane, Australia Vernon Ah Kee was born in North Queensland and is of the Kuku Yalandji, Waanji, Yidindji and Gugu Yimithirr peoples. He received his in visual arts from Queensland College of the Arts in 2007. Ah Kee’s conceptual text pieces, videos, photographs and drawings are a critique of Australian popular culture from the perspective of the Aboriginal experience of contemporary life. Artist Representation Milani Gallery, Brisbane www.milanigallery.com.au 16 Australia 53rd International LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 17 Art Exhibition

Ken Yonetani

Sweet Barrier Reef Sweet Barrier Reef is an installation about coral bleaching, made from white sugar and inspired by the form of a Japanese Zen garden. A symbol of colonisation and modernisation, sugar also represents human desire and consumption, both of which fuel the industries impacting disastrously on fragile ocean environments.

Biography Born 1971 Tokyo, Japan Lives and works in Katoomba, Australia Australian-based Japanese artist Ken Yonetani creates sculptural installations made from ceramics and other similarly fragile materials. His work draws on the traditions of his Japanese cultural heritage to address contemporary environmental crises facing many parts of the world. Artist Representation Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne www.diannetanzergallery.net.au 18 Australia 53rd International LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 19 Art Exhibition

Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro

Life Span Artists Representation 195,774 VHS video cassettes are Barry Keldoulis Gallery, Sydney arranged to form an incongruous www.gbk.com.au Gallery Gitte Weise, Berlin monumental block inside the church. www.gitteweisegallery.com The amount is significant: the combined running time is enough to Artists Website literally record the average person’s www.claireandsean.com life of 66.1 years. Life Span is the physical representation of what may flash before one’s eyes before death.

Biography Claire Healy Born 1971, Melbourne, Australia Lives and works in Sydney, Australia and Berlin, Sean Cordeiro Born 1974 Sydney, Australia Lives and works in Sydney, Australia and Berlin, Germany Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro explore the space between creation and consumption, questioning the layers that disguise the simple economics that underscore our increasingly complex lives. Their site-specific investigations of certain places are also investigations into the perception of the way things shift. Their art material is often found on site, recycled and reused in works that ponder the material and immaterial value of everyday objects. 20 Australia 53rd International LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 21 Art Exhibition

Major Partners

The Balnaves Foundation The Foundation helps to broaden community UBS access to the arts by financing the Open The Balnaves Foundation is supporting UBS is one of the world’s leading financial House Program at the Sydney Opera House, Australia’s representation at Venice Biennale firms, serving a discerning international client which targets disadvantaged communities, and for the second time. In 2007, the Foundation base. UBS is a leading global wealth manager, a free program for teenagers at the Museum Ab supported Callum Morton’s project at Palazzo a leading global investment banking and of Contemporary Art, Generation Next. Zenobio, Valhalla. securities firm, and one of the largest global Support for medicine consists of grants with asset managers. As an integrated firm, UBS Founded in 2006 by Neil Balnaves the St Vincent’s Hospital, Northcott Disability creates added value for clients by drawing on Foundation disperses over $2 million per Services, the Children’s Hospital at Westmead the combined resources and expertise of all its annum to organisations that aim to create and a major grant of $500,000 to finance businesses. UBS combines financial strength a better Australia through education, medicine research into childhood cancer by young with a global culture that embraces change. and the arts with a focus on young people, the scientists at the Children’s Cancer Institute disadvantaged and Indigenous communities. UBS is deeply committed to the promotion of Australia. In 2008, Bond University was the of excellence and innovation in the arts The Foundation is Exhibition Patrons of recipient of a substantial grant that assisted and maintains a number of longstanding Sculpture by the Sea and has a partnership to build a very successful state-of-the-art sponsorships of arts and cultural projects with the Art Gallery of New South Wales Multimedia Learning Centre for its students. around the world including Australasia. through a programme of exhibitions of In 2009, the Foundation will also award Leaders in the artistic and cultural world contemporary and historical sculpture. scholarships for Indigenous students to study share qualities, such as innovation, creative The Foundation is the principal donor of medicine at the University of New South Wales. thinking and commitment to excellence, that the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art It also supports Indigenous arts through the are also integral to the bank’s success. These and also supports the McClelland Gallery grant made to Tjanpi Desert Weavers. values underpin the partnerships that UBS & Sculpture Park in Melbourne. Assistance has developed with the Art Gallery of NSW, www.balnavesfoundation.com to the arts is also provided through Kaldor National Gallery of Victoria and Sydney Art Projects and as a Major Partner of the Theatre Company. Biennale of Sydney, Australia’s largest UBS is proud to have supported the work international art exhibition. of contemporary Australian artists through its partnership with the Australia Council’s Venice Biennale project since 2005. www.ubs.com 22 Australia 53rd International LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 23 Art Exhibition

The Australia Council for the Arts thanks Supporting the following supporters of the Venice Biennale Partners 2009 exhibitions:

The Queensland Government’s Arts NSW oneworld brings together ten of the world’s Maddocks Arts Victoria Arts Queensland and QIAMEA biggest and best airlines – and around The vision of Arts NSW is to foster a spirited With almost 400 people, and offices in The Victorian Government is once again 20 affiliates – providing its customers and Queensland Government agencies, arts and cultural environment that values our Melbourne and Sydney, Maddocks offers legal delighted to support Australia’s participation carriers with services and value no airline can Arts Queensland (AQ) and the Queensland artists and our heritage, builds community, expertise to a range of clients from industry at the 2009 Venice Biennale of Art. deliver on its own, including global coverage, Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency excites our imagination and inspires our future. sectors including infrastructure, financial and more rewards and recognition, more miles and The Venice Biennale is the world’s most (QIAMEA), are in partnership to support other services, and all levels of government. Arts NSW advises the Government and points, more lounges and smoother transfers. important forum for contemporary visual art. Queensland artists and arts professionals Last year, many of these clients elected to develops policy on all aspects of the arts Victoria has had a close association with in the Venice Biennale 2009. oneworld airlines include Qantas, American recognise Maddocks for ‘Exceptional Service’ and cultural activity in NSW. the event – and Australia’s representation – Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific in the BRW – St George Client Choice Awards. Arts Queensland is dedicated to supporting for more than a decade. Previous Australian Through the financial assistance of the Arts Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN and growing Queensland’s vibrant and Maddocks is proud to have supported the representatives include Howard Arkley, Funding Program, Arts NSW serves arts and Airlines, Malév Hungarian Airlines and Royal innovative arts sector. QIAMEA strives Australia Council’s Venice Biennale project Lyndal Jones, Patricia Piccinini, Ricky Swallow, cultural organisations, artists and members Jordanian. Mexicana and its affiliate Click to establish Queensland Indigenous arts since 2001. The firm’s cultural values of Callum Morton and Daniel Von Sturmer. They of the public. Its management of projects, Mexicana will join the alliance in 2009. as a significant force in international and diversity, collaboration, innovation and are among many contemporary artists whose venues and capital expenditures supports domestic art markets through promotional www.oneworld.com a rigorous pursuit of excellence underpin art and careers have been developed in Victoria the operation and viability of arts and and export activity. everything the firm does. and who continue to have their presence cultural organisations. Museum of Old and New Art felt internationally. Through Arts Victoria’s Together, AQ and QIAMEA are also partners www.maddocks.com.au Arts NSW is part of the Department of Arts, MONA – the Museum of Old and New Art – will International Program, the Victorian Government in Backing Indigenous Arts, an investment Sport and Recreation. open in , Tasmania, late in 2010. MONA provides opportunities for the local arts of $10.73 million to support the Far North will be Australia’s largest private art museum, community to build international networks and Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait www.arts.nsw.gov.au Griffith University is one of Australia’s housing a collection that ranges from Egyptian present their work on the world stage. In 2009, we Islander arts industry. most innovative universities in the fields Qantas and Greek antiquities, through Australian are proud to enable Victorian arts professionals of creative and performing arts, education, Queensland participants in the Venice modernism and international contemporary art. to experience the Biennale first hand, and to oneworld is committed to the highest environment, health and science. Specialist Biennale 2009 are supported by the Visual develop contacts and relationships with standards of corporate social responsibility Visitors to MONA will see and hear and feel – art and design teaching facilities are based Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the international peers – an invaluable opportunity. and airlines of the alliance are proud and think about why art is one of the markers at Griffith’s Queensland College of Art Australian, State and Territory Governments. supporters of numerous arts organisations of being human. If opinions are polarised as to in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Griffith I wish all the Victorian and Australian www.arts.qld.gov.au and events around the world. the success of this venture, then the instigator, Artworks, via The Queensland College of participants every success in Venice in 2009. www.indigenousarts.qld.gov.au David Walsh, will consider the outcome to be Art Gallery generate curatorial, publication oneworld and Qantas are pleased to be a distinctly positive. and public event programming at the part of the 2009 Venice Biennale, connecting student and community interface. the global community to this most important www.moorilla.com.au/mona Lynne Kosky MP showcase of contemporary visual art. www.griffith.edu.au Minister for the Arts www.arts.vic.gov.au 24 Australia 53rd International LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 25 Art Exhibition

Acknowledgements

The Australia Council would like to The Australia Council also acknowledges Commissioner’s Council Dr. Dick Quan Special thanks to With support from acknowledge the special and important the important contribution of Schwartz Doug Hall AM, Commissioner Steven and Lousje Skala Neil and Diane Balnaves James Strong AO, Chair, contribution by the College of Fine Arts, Media in publishing a special artist book Dr. Michael and Eva Slancar Australia Council University of New South Wales (COFA) and focusing on Shaun Gladwell, which will Andrew Cameron (Deputy Commissioner) Phillip and Fiorella de Boos-Smith Schwartz Media. We are greatly appreciative launch at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Schwartz and Cathy Cameron Suzanne and Peter Steigrad Rick and Jan Frolich Kathy Keele, Chief Executive Officer, Australia Council of their support and commitment to Australia’s Media has generously supplied images and Odetta Medich Jack and Cynthia Wynhoven Amanda and Andrew Love participation at the 53rd International Art text commissioned for Shaun Gladwell’s Louise Walsh, Director, Simon and Catriona Mordant Two anonymous donors Ann Gamble Myer Exhibition in Venice. publication to the Australia Council for Artsupport Australia Morry and Anna Schwartz reproduction in the 2009 Venice Biennale Associates Dr. Philip Rylands, Director, COFA is one of Australia’s premier art and The Marketing and Communication, materials. Schwartz Media manages an Penelope Seidler AM Peggy Guggenheim Collection design schools located in Sydney, Australia. Martin Browne and Alexander Gasko Corporate Resources and Market independent Melbourne-based publishing Dr. Gene Sherman and Brian Sherman AM Shaun Gladwell, Claire Healy and Sean Rick and Jan Frolich The Australia Council for the Arts Development teams house, which has a distinguished reputation Cordeiro are graduates of COFA – their Simon Wright, representing Griffith University Venice Biennale 2009 Exhibition Team for quality Australian non-fiction books. Peter and Sharon Ivany Australian representation at the Venice Champion Donors Dr. Colin and Elizabeth Laverty Danielle Baker, Events Coordinator Biennale highlights the crucial role of Sandra Bender, Executive Director training institutions in the development of Geoff and Vicki Ainsworth Amanda and Andrew Love the next generation of artists, designers and Jane and Michael Austin Jan Minchin, Tolarno Galleries Jacqui Bonner, Marketing Consultant theorists. Additionally, COFA has actively Luca and Anita Belgiorno-Nettis Janet and Rowan Mitchell Diego Carpentiero, Australian supported a group of Art Education students Pavilion Supervisor James Darling and Lesley Forwood Martyn and Louise Myer to develop an interactive education toolkit Carli Collins, Project Coordinator supporting young people to directly engage Dr. Paul Eliadis Dr. Clinton Ng Kon Gouriotis, Director, Visual Arts in the creative process with the artists Scott and Zoe Elvish Acknowledgements Victoria McClelland-Fletcher, exhibiting in 2009. COFA has also supported Tim Fairfax a postgraduate group of Master of Art The Australia Council acknowledges the Communication Adviser Simon and Julie Ford Administration students to work as part of important contribution made by the State Lisa O’Hara, Project Coordinator GRANTPIRRIE and Territory arts funding bodies to support the planning and installation team for Once Johani Olmedo, Business the exhibition attendants from all regions Removed on the ground in Venice, through Ginny and Leslie Green Operations Coordinator the leadership of curator Felicity Fenner. of Australia. Ian W Hicks AM Terry Urbahn, Exhibitions Manager We would also like to warmly thank Paoli Ann Gamble Myer Smith, Digital Monkey, Daniela Goldmann Karen Worsfold, Partner and Rupert Myer AM and Annabel Myer Public Relations and Global Specialised Champion Services Manager Roslyn Packer AO Services for their role in supporting the representation of Australian artists at the 53rd International Art Exhibition in Venice. 26 Australia 53rd International LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 27 Art Exhibition

Artist Images

Front & Back Cover Page 8 Page 17 Shaun Gladwell Shaun Gladwell Ken Yonetani Apology to Roadkill 1–6, 2007–2009 Roadkill Positions, 2009 Sweet Barrier Reef (detail), 2008 Production still Photographs Sugar 110 x 1250 x 360 cm Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery Installation view, Biennial of Australian Art Photography: Josh Raymond Photography: Josh Raymond Courtesy the artist and Dianne Tanzer Gallery Cinematography: Gotaro Uematsu Photography: Julia Yonetani Page 9 Inside Front Cover Shaun Gladwell Page 18 Shaun Gladwell Colour Test: Mundi Mundi Plains, 2009 Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro Apology to Roadkill 1–6, 2007–2009 Production still Life Span (detail), 2009 Production still Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery VHS video cassettes, silicone 480 x 318 x 524 cm Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery Photography: Josh Raymond Courtesy the artists and Barry Keldoulis Gallery Photography: Josh Raymond Cinematography: Gotaro Uematsu Photography: Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro Cinematography: Gotaro Uematsu Page 13 Page 19 Page 2 Vernon Ah Kee Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro Shaun Gladwell Cant Chant (Wegrewhere), 2007–2009 Deceased Estate, 2004 Negative Silverton Hotel Position, 2009 Video production still Entire found detritus from artists’ warehouse Found images Courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery 500 x 560 x 650 cm Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery Photography: Vernon Ah Kee Glashaus Gallery, Weil am Rhein, Germany Courtesy the artists and Barry Keldoulis Gallery Page 3 Page 14 Photography: Christian Schnur Shaun Gladwell Vernon Ah Kee Interceptor Surf Sequence, 2009 Cant Chant (Wegrewhere), 2007–2009 Page 27 Production still Video production still Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery Courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery Wohnwagen (flatpack – Past Times), 2006–2007 Photography: Josh Raymond Photography: Vernon Ah Kee 6 lambda prints, 29 x 42 cm each, edition of 20, Cinematography: Gotaro Uematsu Installation of entire deconstructed caravan Page 15 and euro pallets Page 5 Vernon Ah Kee Dimensions vary Shaun Gladwell Cant Chant (Wegrewhere), 2007–2009 Collection: private museum, Tasmania Planet and Stars Sequence: Barrier Highway, 2009 Video, painted surfboards and vinyl lettering Courtesy the artists and Barry Keldoulis Gallery Production still Installation view, IMA, Brisbane Photography: Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery Courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery Photography: Josh Raymond Photography: Richard Stringer Inside Back Cover Cinematography: Gotaro Uematsu Vernon Ah Kee Page 16 Cant Chant (Wegrewhere), 2007–2009 Pages 6–7 Ken Yonetani Video production still Shaun Gladwell Sweet Barrier Reef (detail), 2005 Courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery Interceptor Surf Sequence, 2009 Sugar 160 x 1200 x 600 cm Photography: Vernon Ah Kee Production still Installation view, Artspace, Sydney Courtesy the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery Courtesy the artist and Dianne Tanzer Gallery Photography: Josh Raymond Photography: Darren Hopton Cinematography: Gotaro Uematsu 28 Australia 53rd International Art Exhibition

The Australia Council for the Arts is the Australia Council for the Arts Australian Government’s arts funding and Phone: +61 2 9215 9000 [email protected] advisory body. We support and promote www.australiacouncil.gov.au the practice and enjoyment of the arts. The Australia Council has managed and funded Australian representation for more than 30 years. Previous Australian representatives at the Venice Biennale include Judy Watson, Howard Arkley, Patricia Piccinini, Ricky Swallow, Susan Norrie, Callum Morton and Daniel von Sturmer. Every attempt has been made to locate the copyright holders for material quoted in this book.

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