The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT6) @ Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art

Kohei Nawa | Japan b.1975 | PixCell-Elk#2 2009 | 240 x 249.5 x 198cm | Taxidermied elk, glass, acrylic, crystal beads | Work created with the support of the Fondation d’enterprise Hermės | Courtesy the artist and SCAI, Tokyo | Photograph: Seiji Toyonaga

BRISBANE.- Spectacular large-scale installations and compelling sitespecific and performance works feature in ‘The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT6), which opens tomorrow.

APT6 shows at the Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery, in Brisbane, until April 5, 2010.

Queensland Art Gallery Director Tony Ellwood said APT6 was the most ambitious Triennial exhibition yet, in physical scale and geographic scope and included cinema programs, public programs and Kids’ APT.

‘The Queensland Government has been Founding Supporter of the Triennial since the series commenced, and Santos is presenting sponsor this year as part of an unprecedented fiveyear sponsorship agreement with the Gallery.

‘APT6 is also assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy.

‘Each APT exhibition aims to reach further and deeper into the region and APT6 is a superb example of this ambition. The show presents, for the first time, art by practitioners from Iran, Turkey, Tibet, and countries in the Mekong region, including Cambodia and Myanmar, as well as a major group of works from artists employed by the Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang, North Korea (DPRK),’ he said.

‘The APT6 exhibition presents 313 art works by more than 160 artists from over 25 countries. The APT6 cinema programs present 260 feature and short films by more than 120 filmmakers.

‘This weekend’s free public opening celebration involving many of the exhibiting artists, will feature talks, performances, films, programs for children and families, and a Saturday night performance event, Pacific Reggae Sounds.’

Mr Ellwood said one of the highlights for visitors will be the six-panel mirror mosaic, Lightning for Neda 2009, commissioned by the Gallery from Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. At 85 years of age Monir is the most senior artist to participate in an APT and this work demonstrates age is no barrier to great art making. It is a privilege to bring her story to our audiences.’

'The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' (APT6) profiles new commissions and recent work by more than 100 artists and filmmakers from over 25 countries across the region.

APT6 includes for the first time contemporary artists from North Korea (DPRK), Iran, Turkey, Tibet, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma). Australian artists presented in APT6 are the Philippines-born, Brisbane-based husband-and-wife team Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan; the Melbourne collective DAMP; Raafat Ishak (Melbourne); and Tracey Moffatt, who lives and works in New York and on the Sunshine Coast.

APT6 includes three groundbreaking presentations: The Mansudae Art Studio project, co-curated with filmmaker Nicholas Bonner (UK/China), the first presentation in Australia of contemporary art from North Korea (DPRK); Pacific Reggae, co-curated with broadcaster Brent Clough (NZ/Australia), showcasing for the first time music and music video by reggae artists from Hawai’i, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia; and The Mekong, co-curated with artist Rich Streitmatter-Tran (Vietnam), featuring painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography and video from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma).

Internationally acclaimed directors Ang Lee (Taiwan/USA), Rithy Panh (Cambodia/France) and Takeshi Kitano (Japan) are the filmmakers featured in the Australian Cinémathèque at the Gallery of Modern Art.

Ang Lee | Taiwan b.1954 | Production still from Se, Jie (Lust, Caution) 2007 | 35mm, colour, Dolby Digital, 157 minutes, USA/China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, Mandarin/Japanese/English/Hindi/Shanghainese/Cantonese (English subtitles) | Image courtesy: Universal Pictures International, Sydney

Chen Qiulin | China b. 1975 | Garden No. 1 2007 | Photograph | 127 x 152cm, ed of 8 | Image courtesy: The artist and Max Protetch Gallery, New York

Cheo Chai-Hiang | Singapore b.1946 | Fei Chang Ku 2007 | Stainless steel, perspex, neon / 3 parts: 53 x 55 x 13cm (each) | Image courtesy: The artist and NAFA, Singapore

Subodh Gupta | India b.1964 | Line of Control (1) 2008 | Brass and copper utensils, stainless steel and steel structure | 500 x 500 x 500cm | Collection: The artist | Courtesy The artist and Arario Gallery, Beijing

Gonkar Gyatso | b. 1961, Tibet/England | Angel 2007 | Stickers and pencil on treated paper. | 152 x 121.5cm | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

Kyungah Ham | South Korea b.1966 | Nagasaki Mushroom Cloud, Hiroshima Mushroom Cloud 2008 | Hand embroidery on silk | Diptych: (a) 120 x 150cm; (b) 120 x 150cm | Sigg Collection, Switzerland | Image courtesy: The artist and Kukje Gallery, Seoul

Runa Islam | Bangladesh/United Kingdom b.1970 | First Day of Spring (still) 2005 | 16mm film, colour, sound, 7:00 minutes | Image courtesy: The artist and White Cube, London | Photograph: Todd-White Art Photography

Ayaz Jokhio | Pakistan b.1978 | Working designs for a thousand doors and windows too… 2009 | Site-specific work for APT6 | Image courtesy: The artist

Production still from Glory to the Filmmaker 2007 | Director: Takeshi Kitano | Image courtesy: Celluloid Dreams

Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba | Japan/Vietnam/United States b.1968 | The Ground, the Root, and the Air: The Passing of the Bodhi Tree 2004-2007 | High definition digital video projection, 14:30 minutes, colour, stereo | Collection: The artist | Image courtesy: The Quiet in the Land, Laos/Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo/Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York | Photograph:Yukari Imai

Rithy Panh | Cambodia/France b.1964 | Production still from Neak Sre (Rice People) 1994 | 35mm, colour, stereo, 125 minutes, Cambodia/France/Switzerland/Germany, Khmer (English subtitles) | Image courtesy: CulturesFrance, Paris

Qiu Anxiong | China b.1972 | The new book of mountains and seas (part 1) (still) 2006 | Digital hand-painted animation, AVI file, 3 channel projection, continuous loop exhibited from PC, 4:1, black and white, sound, 30:15 minutes, ed. 1/10 | Image courtesy: The artist and Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong

Kibong Rhee | South Korea b.1957 | There is no place – Shallow cuts 2008 | Glass, fog machine, artificial leaves, wood, steel, sand, motor, timer | Installation view, Kukje Gallery, Seoul | Images courtesy: The artist and Kukje Gallery, Seoul

Hiraki Sawa | Japan b.1977 | Luritja Road, Central Australia 2008 | Image courtesy: The artist

Shirana Shahbazi | Iran b. 1974 | Flowers, fruits & portraits series [Voegel 01-2007] | C-print on aluminium Sizes variable, Ed. of 5 | © The artist | Image courtesy: Bob van Orsouw Gallery, Zurich and Salon 94, New York

Shooshie Sulaiman | Malaysia b.1973 | Masculine moth’s eye 2007 | Photo collage | 6.9 x 8.9cm | Image courtesy: The artist

Charwei Tsai | Taiwan b. 1980 | Mushroom mantra 2008 | Black ink on fresh mushrooms | Dimensions variable | Image courtesy: The artist

Yang Shaobin | China b.1963 | X – Blind Spot No. 18 2008 | Fibreglass and clay | 61 x 74 x 108cm | Image courtesy: The artist and Long March Space, Beijing

Yao Jui-chung | Everything will fall into ruin (detail) 1990–2009 | Black and white digital photograph, AP 1 | 100 x 150cm | Gift of the artist through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2009 | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

Zhu Weibing, Ji Wenyu | People holding flowers (detail) 2007 | The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 2008 with funds from Michael Simcha Baevski through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery.