‘The gift’ is the narrative key and centrepiece of Michael Stevenson's installation ‘Argonauts of the Timor Sea’. Stevenson has been described as an 'anthropologist of the avant-garde'. He enjoys trawling through obscure and curious moments in history and thoroughly researching and re-configuring them to discover readings that history has missed. With a combination of acerbic wit, technical skill and critical perspective, Stevenson's projects conflate particular events, objects and histories into a strange yet convincing amalgam of truth and fiction. Detailed research and verifiable truths merge with fraud and fakery to produce works that are both 'reconstruction' and fanciful scenario. As author Robert Leonard has said: 'Stevenson's displays explore historical incidents that are stranger than fiction. His tales are so obscure and bizarre that one might naturally question their authenticity. Indeed Stevenson deliberately plays off the mockumentary and other hoax genres. He goes for stories that never found a place in capital 'H' History, yet redeems them as unlikely keys to the big picture.'
This work, related to Stevenson's project ‘Argonauts of the Timor Sea’ (2004), is a collection of 'pseudo-artefacts' inspired by canonical Australian artist Ian Fairweather's intrepid journey across the Timor Sea from Darwin to Roti in 1952. Reconstructed specifically for 'The 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art', Stevenson's raft is an imaginative replica of Fairweather's precarious and fragile vessel. As no photographs of the raft exists, Stevenson based his re-creation on a rough drawing made by an observer and published descriptions, perching his replicated raft on top of piles of ‘National Geographic’ magazines (Fairweather's preferred reading).
Through ‘The gift’ Stevenson draws attention to various debates and histories, including the origins of the Polynesian race and non-monetary, pre-capitalist economies based on barter and exchange. As an object, the raft also alludes to the movement of people in opposite directions to Fairweather's voyage, both historically and in present times - from colonial voyages of discovery, to the more recent perilous boat journeys by asylum seekers.
Michael Stevenson, New Zealand b. 1964 / ‘The gift (from 'Argonauts of the Timor Sea')’ 2004-06 / Aluminium, wood, rope, bamboo, synthetic polymer paint, World War Two parachute and National Geographic magazines / 400 x 600 x 300cm / Purchased 2007. The Queensland Government's Gallery of Modern Art Acquisitions Fund / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery / © The artist
'The 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' (APT5) was the opening exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) and the refurbished Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) building, with displays across both sites making the exhibition twice the scale of previous Triennials.
APT5 included around 353 works by 35 individual artists, filmmakers and performers, as well as two multi-artist projects. Curated cinema and performance programs brought a dynamic new dimension to APT5, and allowed an exploration of these media on a scale never before presented by the Triennial.
The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) is QAGOMA's flagship international contemporary art event, and the only major exhibition series in the world to focus exclusively on the contemporary art of Asia, the Pacific and Australia.
BLOG: [ Ссылка ]
WEBSITE: [ Ссылка ]
The 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT5) / Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Brisbane Australia / 2 Dec 2006 – 27 May 2007
Source: QAGOMA APT Archive
#APT5 #APT #QAGOMA
