Curate Your Own Adventure

Art of the Brick is currently on display at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) until May 1. With only one month left until the exhibition closes, I thought now was better than never to write a quick review. I also feel as though I need to say straight out that my allegiances are, and always will be, with the Marvel Universe. I am currently revolving my sense of time around when Captain America Civil: War is released (oh that essay is due three days post-Captain). Anyway, if you are the same as me and prefer Marvel to DC do not let that dictate whether or not you visit. Some of the work you will see inside is unbelievable.

The exhibition starts with a short film. I quite like this idea for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it allows for casual crowd management. Secondly, it means that you are exposed to some context before delving in to what’s on display. The Art of the Brick film is short, around 2-3 minutes. It shows the behind-the-scenes work of Lego artist Nathan Sawaya, the creator of all Lego pieces inside the exhibition. In the entrance space you are also able to see one of his most famous pieces – the yellow man ripping open his chest.

After the film you exit into a room similar to that of the entrance. Again, you come face to face with the yellow Lego man except this time he has transformed into the Joker. It was a great way to introduce the exhibition – visually transporting visitors into the world of DC Comics.

It is quite a large exhibition inside with ten rooms filled to the brim with superhero stories. The rooms are thematically organized. For example, in one there are heroes and in another, the villains. There are also rooms dedicated to one superhero. I loved the Batman rooms that were curated to look like Gotham City.

In terms of layout, the entire exhibition is quite dark with spotlights highlighting the specific pieces. Each piece is displayed open-air with no protective glass. Essentially this means I had a small heart attack each time a child was running directly into the path of one. On the other hand, having things open-air means you can really see the intricacy of the structures and appreciate how much time and effort went into their creation.

The pieces range from quite small to absolutely massive. No spoilers here but the finale of the exhibition is definitely worth seeing. After exiting the rooms there is a small gift shop and an area for kids to play with Lego. It was great seeing so many children playing with the Lego pieces and trying to build their own creations.

If I had to describe the exhibition in one word it would probably be fun. I didn’t worry about reading the exhibition labels or writing down any information. I simply walked around and admired the pieces for their artistic value and for their ability to show the beauty of creativity.

This Easter long weekend presented a perfect opportunity to see the Biennale artworks at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA). Located right next to Circular Quay, the MCA is an impressive building combining elements of the old with the new. It is also a lovely gallery to visit if you are looking for a day on the Harbour and hoping to see the Harbour Bridge/Opera House or explore The Rocks area.

Until June 5, the MCA is displaying a few of the Biennale artworks. I ran through what Biennale is in my last blog post. Whereas Cockatoo Island is the Embassy of the Real, the MCA is the Embassy of Translation. It was difficult to truly understand and appreciate the artworks without a guide. In saying this, the MCA does offer an app, free to download within the museum, that promised to provide more context for the artworks on display. Although the app was easy to use, it did not add anything to our experience. If anything, it repeated a lot of the information already on the artwork labels.

Biennale is located on the entrance level in quite a small room. The works of eleven artists are on display and include paintings, sculptures, and photographs. In total, we spent around 30 minutes walking through the entire exhibition only occasionally stopping to read the labels.

One particular installation that caught my eye is pictured below. The piece is by Dayanita Singh, an artist from New Delhi. It is simple, yet aesthetically pleasing. Without even knowing its meaning or significance, I was drawn to look at all the photographs. According to the artwork label, these photographs are ‘both a catalogue and miniature, traveling exhibition of Museum Bhavan’. Each accordion correlates to one of nine museums (Printing Press Museum, Museum of Photography, Little Ladies Museum, Museum of Machines, Godrej Museum, Museum of Men, Ongoing Museum, Museum of Vitrines and Museum of Furniture). It was great seeing how visitors reacted to and interacted with this piece. After reading the label, more often than not visitors would go through the nine accordions and try to match what photographs came from which museums.

There is another piece by Singh in the museum titled the ‘Suitcase Museum’. It consists of large leather bags that each contain an array of black and white photographs. In my opinion, Singh’s work raises questions of the museum experience and who can visit an exhibition. Personally, what interests me about these themes is how the exact same exhibition in a different location can elicit new meaning. How it is curated, who is visiting the space, etc etc can change the experience and, ultimately, result in an entirely different outcome.

One final word on the artworks. When you first walk into the exhibition room, it is truly a multi-sensory experience. To the left of the entrance is a sculpture/installation of coffee cups floating above piles of coffee beans. The smell of coffee is quite strong. Straight away I felt as though I was a guest to the exhibition being offered some coffee to start my day.

Overall, I would recommend seeing the Biennale artworks at the MCA. It would probably be best to combine this embassy with a couple of the others. This is not because the artworks are disappointing, but, because they will hopefully leave you wanting to see more!

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what Biennale was until last year. I had heard little snippets of information about it prior to this but never took much notice. During an Exhibition Development course, our lecturer spoke about installations that have featured at Biennale in the past.From then on I desperately wanted to see the installations for myself.

Spread across a variety of venues, Biennale is essentially a huge art festival featuring contemporary art from all over the world. It is held in places like the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Art Gallery of New South Wales and Cockatoo Island. It is running until June 5 and most of the venues have free entry! A pretty perfect day out. Today I went on a behind-the-scenes tour of the artwork displayed on the Island. Not to sound biased at all, but, I reckon if you are going to see Biennale then Cockatoo Island is the place to go. Firstly, unlike the MCA etc the entire Island is filled with artwork. It’s not separated off nor is it confined to one specific area. Secondly, due to the nature of the buildings on the Island huge installations can be displayed. The Turbine Hall in particular can support some pretty amazing pieces. Last, but not least, the mix between the old and the new on the Island is amazing. Think of contemporary art installations inside Convict Barracks.

The theme for Cockatoo Island is Embassy of the Real. Each piece of artwork brings into question what is real? Who is our real self when we co-exist both in real life and in the virtual world? It is a very interesting theme to see played out in the various artworks.

Highlights for me. I cannot go past the video installation next to the Convict Barracks in the old hospital. It shows a small village in Turkey completely cut off from electricity etc. When someone wants to make a call they must hike to the top of a mountain for mobile reception. The video shows the locals hiking, making calls, and engaging with their technology. It calls into question the main theme of Biennale ‘the future is here just not evenly distributed.’

I also enjoyed the installation by Shanghai artist Xu Zhen. Zhen has combined the Elgin Marbles with Asian sculptures to represent the literal clashing of heads between different cultures. It simultaneously has a very clear message yet is still open for interpretation.

‘Eternity’

In the future I will definitely take the opportunity to experience the virtual reality tunnel. One at a time visitors are sent through the tunnel with video googles and headphones to experience an alternate reality. Probably best to steer clear if you’re claustrophobic.

There is so much more on the Island worth exploring. I loved the way it has opened up Cockatoo Island for the public to explore and engage with on a whole other level. Experience each space and see what it has to offer. If you are there Thursday – Sunday make sure you enjoy some wine tasting on top of the Island as well.

My introduction to Biennale has been eye-opening and filled with curiosity. I’m not a massive fan of contemporary art, but, seeing it interact with the heritage of the Island is truly something special.

More information can be found here: https://www.biennaleofsydney.com.au/20bos/

Back in Sydney and back to study. I’ve been a little quiet on the blog front lately mainly because I’ve been dealing with moving interstate (again), starting a new job, going back to study etc etc all the excuses. I am greatly looking forward to this year and all the museum and heritage goodness it will bring. The second half of last year felt so rushed and intense so I’m extremely happy to have settled in for a full twelve months this time around.

To kick things off I will be attending Biennale on the 21st of March. For those of you unaware of what this is, it’s basically a huge art festival they hold in various locations around Sydney. It runs for approximately two and a half months (18 March – 1 June). During this period there are a lot of huge and fascinating art installations on Cockatoo Island. A perk of working on the Island (one of many) is that I will be attending a behind-the-scenes tour of the artwork. I will make sure to write a little something about it and on the festival itself.

Speaking of the Island, on Tuesday I led my first public tour. I had a great group of very interested individuals who were so engaged the whole time. I never thought in a million years that I’d love being a tour guide as much as I do today. Public speaking was something I actively avoided. When I started taking convict history tours of Brisbane last year, however, a switch went off in my brain. All of sudden I had people actually interested in what I was saying and asking questions, wanting me to say more etc etc. The impact that had on me can never be taken for granted. It’s just unreal to now have the opportunity to talk about something I love (history and heritage). I think as well this whole ‘Australian history is boring’ thing needs to stop. We need to know our history. That is another rant for another day.

Moving on, my core unit subject on engaging audiences has a few excursions so again I will try to write some blog posts about those. Included are visits to the Hyde Park Barracks and Susannah Place Museum. That is basically what to expect from me until the Open Palace Program starts in July.

Until then, goodbye!