Time for a little art – Triennial Exhibition – National Gallery of Victoria
We are usually writing about being lost; on our bikes or in our boots, so it makes a change to be posting about a very enjoyable visit to the Triennial Exhibition at the NGV.
The exhibition showcased contemporary art and design including some very special interactive works. We enjoyed the variety.
Chinese artist Xu Zhen explores his Buddhist heritage and various traditional depictions of the Buddha in this monumental work Eternity‑Buddha in Nirvana. The image below puts some perspective on the size of the work.
The cafe had been turned into a design work depicting a Moroccan tea house.
Don’t worry – one of several images looking at modern lifePassport photos covered one wall – it was hard to get them all into one imageThese portraits were made from shredded billboard paperNick Cave sculptures that you can wear. These outfits cover the body and remove all traces of the wearer’s identity. When you are wearing a Soundsuit, no one can tell whether you are rich or poor, black or white, male or female. Covering the body in this way makes people think differently about humanity.Intriguing but difficult to photograph – When a person moves within this environment, their movement is tracked by sensors that communicate via computer with the projectors. Thus, movement creates a visual vortex, expressing the movement of each person in the space as a continuum of digital particles. The faster each person moves, the stronger the vortex becomes. If a person is not moving or there are no people present, no visual flow occurs. Darkness and infinity mirrors added to the surreal feelings when participating in this exhibit.This (images above and below)) was a combination of large design images joined by acrylic yarn. As you moved through the room you gain quite different perspectives.
This is a carpet that depicts the Santa Cruz river in ArgentinaA colourful wall hangingThis tapestry was made using a weaving machine, like in the olden days, but one controlled by a computer instead of by hand. When you get up close, you can see each stitch; if you squint, though, it looks like foil again. This photo makes it look like foil.
In the exhibit below, you face the screens which use military grade thermal imaging technology. The objective is show the plight of Syrian war refugees. As you stand in front of the screen your image is projected onto and stored in, the screen and you appear and disappear along with the many other images stored. In our case, as I interchanged with Ruth our images morphed into one – the result (bottom) was rather concerning (for cliff))
Ruth faces one of the three screen that capture and store your image – you can see the confusion of portraits on the screen
Ruth’s image is predominant at this point
Cliff and Ruth’s images start to morph
Things start to get rather weird as Cliff and Ruth morph into Cluth
Adventures on the wrong side of 60 
Great visit! …and great photos. My favorite? Buddha and friends.
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The Buddha was very impressive and very large. No doubt the first of many Buddha images to come.
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