
18th Biennale of Sydney
all our relations
The 18th Biennale of
Sydney, all our relations, was the
first to be developed by a curatorial duo, Artistic Directors Catherine de
Zegher and Gerald McMaster. De Zegher and McMaster proposed that an exhibition that
could function as a collaboration between curators, artists and audience; a
‘collective composition’ that championed values of connectivity, conversation and
compassion as models for being in the world. To this end, one of the criteria
for participation was an interest in conversation and collaboration. Artists were
also invited to consider the audience’s experience over time. Art became a way
of activating a ‘relational field’ in which things and people could interact
and create meaning together. The result was a Biennale rich with experiential
and participatory artworks, performances and collaborations, such as the
ephemeral installation The River, 2012,
produced by Polish-born German artist Monika Grzymala and Euraba Artists and
Papermakers from north-west New South Wales, one of ten collaboratively
produced works. On Cockatoo Island, under the evocative subtitle ‘Stories,
Senses and Spheres’, large-scale sculptures, immersive installations and sound
works were featured, with artists such as Philip Beesley, Tiffany Singh, Imran
Qureshi and Lyndal Jones creating work especially for the site. Carriageworks
was a presenting partner for the first time, hosting the Australian premieres
of En Atendant and Cesena by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s
dance ensemble Rosas, as well as an installation by Ann Veronica Janssens.
Locations
Art Gallery of NSW;
Carriageworks; Cockatoo Island; Museum of Contemporary Art; Pier 2/3
Artists and Countries
101 artists
42 countries