The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial Of Contemporary Art

Australia’s most anticipated contemporary art event, APT9, takes place in Brisbane across QAG and GOMA throughout the summer and into autumn of 2019.

The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art is the world’s largest exhibition of art from Australia, Asia and the Pacific, with the works of 80 individuals, collectives and groups from 30 countries displayed across the Gallery of Modern Art and key spaces in the Queensland Art Gallery including the iconic Watermall.

One of the major art works in this exciting exhibition will be a massive ink painting, Map of Utopia 2018, created on-site specifically for APT9 by leading Chinese artist Qiu Zhijie.

Another key work, greeting visitors at the entrance of GOMA, will be a display of large, circular sculptural forms known as Tutana constructed from thousands of passa shells by members of the Gunantuna community from Papua New Guinea.

Vuth Lyno’s towering installation of Cambodian spirit houses retrieved from the iconic, now demolished, White Building in Phnom Penh pays homage to the vibrant community of over 2000 residents who once occupied the building.

Diver 2018, created by Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri, is a four-sided video installation invoking the presence of a large-scale aquarium. On screen synchronised swimmers perform in a pearlescent body of water mimicking the repetitive movements of pearl divers.

Another highlight is a major new work by Singapore-based artists Donna Ong and Robert Zhao Renhui, My forest is not your garden 2016-18, which will dramatically transform QAG’s Watermall. 

In addition, APT9 will feature one of the largest representations of First Nation artists in a Triennial to date, with works by indigenous artists from Australia, New Zealand, PNG, Hawaii, Taiwan, Okinawa and Laos.

By Deb Lidster

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