Bagni di Lucca and Beyond

I attended the opening of the 8th Asia Triennial of Contemporary Art last Friday night at GoMA and the Queensland Art Gallery. I was one of about 10,000 people there.  It was a great evening, but not the best way to see the art.

I went back the next day and had a much better look at the exhibition. Best of all, I was there for a couple of one off performance art pieces.

Anida Yoeu Ali stages a series of curious encounters in The Buddhist Bug 2015 by inhabiting a caterpillar-like costume developed out of the artist’s fascination with Buddhism as a Khmer Muslim woman.

The performance was set up in the lovely foyer of the Art Gallery across the water feature. I was there early to see the beginning.

The artist was the head of the bug and someone was the tail.

People were invited to walk close to the performance…it proved to be very popular.

There was another performance at GoMA. A young woman in traditional costume was slowly wrapped in tape.

…and slowly unwound.

There was also a room filled with charcoal, a sturdy table and a rolling pin. For 8 hours a woman dressed in white ground the charcoal to dust. I can’t show you this, because the artist requested no photos. I will return to take some photos of the results.

The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art continues until April 2016…lots of time for repeat visits. I will return and take some more photos for you.