Featuring the work of 70 artists, collectives and projects from 30 countries, the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art has opened at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane.
QAGOMA Director Chris Saines CNZM said the eleventh chapter in the Gallery’s flagship Asia Pacific Triennial series offered audiences an expansive, free art experience across both gallery buildings all through summer until 27 April 2025.
“The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art is a much-anticipated exhibition on the international and national arts calendar. Every three years it presents a snapshot of the most exciting and innovative developments in contemporary art from around our culturally diverse region,” said Mr Saines.
“The Triennial features 500 works of art, including many by artists not previously exhibited in Australia, as well as Asia Pacific Triennial Kids, seven artist projects that encourage younger audiences to explore their creativity through making and multimedia interactives, drawing and video.”
“It also includes Asia Pacific Triennial Cinema, comprising curated surveys of filmmakers Tsai Ming-liang (Taiwan), Kamila Andini (Indonesia) and Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan), two thematic cinema programs, conversations and a live music and film event,” said Mr Saines.
Mr Saines said the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial was developed by the Gallery’s team of specialist curators working with co-curators, advisors and interlocutors from across the region and in South-East Queensland communities.
“The exhibition is built on QAGOMA’s four-decade-long engagement in Asia and the Pacific, and it highlights the work of First Nations, minority and diaspora cultures as well as the collective, performative and community-driven art practices that thrive in the region,” said Mr Saines.
“Layered with responses, questions and ideas about the present moment, the Triennial explores the many issues facing humanity and looks towards the future from a vast array of cultural perspectives. It includes recent and newly commissioned works that are rich with stories of journeys, migrations, environmental care and connections to place.”
Highlights of the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial include:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 M?ori 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.
- 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 including a 20-metre, 18-panel, 360-degree panorama of Kennedy Town, at the western end of Hong Kong Island, as viewed from the artist’s studio.
Minister for Education and the Arts John-Paul Langbroek said the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art is a firm fixture on the international exhibition calendar, renowned for presenting exceptional and diverse visual art.
“More than four million visitors have attended the Triennials since the first in 1993, and the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial is set to continue this tradition as a major cultural tourism drawcard,” said Minister Langbroek.
“With its free program of works and engaging activities, the exhibition will ensure visitors of all ages can access some of the most exciting art from across the region.”
“The Queensland Government is proud to support QAGOMA’s 11th Asia Pacific Triennial – a flagship event which forges strong creative ties between artists from Australia, Asia and the Pacific and enhances Queensland’s reputation as a dynamic arts and cultural hub,” said Minister Langbroek.
The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Stanley Place, South Brisbane
Exhibition continues to 27 April 2025
Free entry
For more information, visit: www.qagoma.qld.gov.au for details.
Images: Installation view of Haus Yuriyal’s artwork including (front to back) Bopa 2024, Kalabus 2024, Kamkau Ike (Haus Toktok) 2024 with Yuriyal Bridgeman’s Yuri Alai Eagles (ceiling shield paintings) 2024 and Kuman (shield) paintings 2024 at The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery – photo by C Callistemon © QAGOMA | Installation view of Dana Awartani’s artwork in the Asia Pacific Triennial including (front) Standing by the ruins 2022 and (back l-r) Study Drawing 1-4 from the Standing by the Ruins series 2024 / Purchased 2024 with funds from the Contemporary Patrons through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art – photo by J Ruckli © QAGOMA | Mit Jai Inn / (left to right) Untitled (Scroll #APT) 2024 / Purchased 2024 with funds from Tim Fairfax AC through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Untitled (Tunnel #APT) 2024 / Untitled (Totem #APT) 2024 / Installation view at the The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery – photo by C Callistemon © QAGOMA