In celebration of the John Curtin Gallery’s 25 year partnership with the Perth Festival, However vast the darkness… assembles a compelling group of works in deep reflection, as well as cogent protest, of the inequities suffered by peoples across the globe – many as a result of Empire building.
Their collective voice of truth-telling is a beacon of hope, in a time of heightened global uncertainty and anxiety. Bow Echo, 2019, is an award-winning project by Aziz Hazara, born in Kabul, Afghanistan, that confronts us with a harrowing vision of young Afghan boys, precariously perching on a mountain top, stormswept, desperately struggling to announce the urgency of their community’s plight against repression, amidst the cultural desolation of war-torn Afghanistan. Aotearoa/New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana’s in Pursuit of Venus [infected],
Opening Event: Thursday 9 February
Exhibition: 10 February – 16 April 2023
Supported By: Perth Festival, Wesfarmers Arts
2015-17 was the globally acclaimed highlight from the 2017 Venice Biennale, interrogating the impact of Empire building upon the peoples of the Pacific, from a unique First Nations perspective. After showing this monumental work to overwhelming acclaim in Perth for the first time in 2018, in honour of our Festival partnership, we have selected this magnificent work in reprise for 2023 to allow many who missed the opportunity in 2018 to experience one of the world’s greatest artworks created in the last 25 years.
Occurrent Affair
First presented at University of Queensland Art Museum, this touring exhibition from Museums and Galleries NSW, brings together politically charged works by acclaimed First Nations artists from the Brisbane based artist collective proppaNOW: Vernon Ah Kee, Tony Albert, Richard Bell, Megan Cope, Jennifer Herd, Gordon Hookey and Laurie Nilsen, celebrating the strength, resilience and continuity of Aboriginal culture. Together with the monumentally immersive works by Reihana and
Hazara, the politically charged works in OCCurrent Affair combine to deepen the reflection and protest, of the inequities suffered by peoples across the globe as a result of Empire building. They challenge us to forge a better future amidst the growing darkness of adversity, in times of profound geopolitical tension and enduring repression, these artists present truth-telling as the way to illuminate a path through this darkness. An exhibition from The University of Queensland Art Museum touring with Museums & Galleries of NSW. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. This project is assisted by the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program.
Supported By: Perth Festival, Wesfarmers Arts, Lotterywest
