Overview
Forests, riverbeds, floating mirrored spheres, a hefty collection of motorbikes: across recent summers, these have all filled Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art. Every three years, so does a returning showcase dedicated not to a theme but to the area of the world that the River City is a part of. For more than three decades now, pre-dating GOMA's existence, the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art has contemplated this corner of the globe, the experiences over its vast expanse and the region's talents. The 2024–25 iteration marks the exhibition's 11th run — and if the fact that there'll be more than 500 works doesn't already make it seem like a maze, a labyrinth-esque installation at Queensland Art Gallery will.
Thailand's Mit Jai Inn is bringing a maze-like piece to the QAG Watermall, a space that's also seen its fair share of part works — including from Yayoi Kusama and at prior APTs — and featured on-screen in Apples Never Fall. This time, art lovers will spy tunnels, curtains and scrolls, all in an installation that you can step inside. There's your first must-see part of APT11.
Dawn Ng / Singapore b.1982 / WATERFALL VIII (still) 2023 / 4K video: 16:9 (landscape) and 9:16 (portrait), 27:06 minutes / Courtesy: The artist and Sullivan+Strumpf / © Dawn Ng.
Set to display from Saturday, November 30, 2024–Sunday, April 27, 2025 at both GOMA and QAG, the exhibition's full list of 500-plus works hails from over 70 artists and collectives, with more than 200 individuals making a contribution. Among the new commissions, Jasmine Togo-Brisby, Kawita Vatanajyankur, Trương Công Tùng, Paemanu Contemporary Art Collective, 'Aunofo Havea Funaki and the Lepamahanga Women's Group, Mele Kahalepuna Chun and Mai Nguyễn-Long will all provide pieces; however, the list of artists involved goes on from there.
Courtesy of 28-artist collective Haus Yuriyal in Papua New Guinea, attendees will check out paintings on fighting shields, sculptures carved from tree ferns and a harvest garden in Queensland Art Gallery's sculpture courtyard. At GOMA, the Long Gallery will feature Tai Moana Tai Tangata, a combination of sculptures and video from Aotearoa's Brett Graham. Plus, Dana Awartani from Saudi Arabia and Palestine will present the floor-based Standing by the Ruins, which uses Islamic geometry and crafting, as well as Arabic ruin poetry, to ponder the impact of war.
Dana Awartani / Saudi Arabia / Palestine b.1987 / Standing by the ruins (installation view, 'Art Here: Icon. Iconic', Louvre, Abu Dhabi) 2022/ Courtesy: The artist / © Dana Awartani.
Dawn Ng's multi-channel video featuring frozen pigment melting; Yeung Tong Lung's portraits of daily Hong Kong life; Kikik Kollektive musing on a serpent deity; film programs exploring the careers of Tsai Ming-liang (Days), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (the Oscar-winning Drive My Car) and Kamila Andini (Yuni): they're all also on the lineup. Fingers crossed that the Tsai Ming-liang survey includes his stunning first virtual-reality effort The Deserted.
The full roster of APT10 participants spans artists from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Iran, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Timor‑Leste, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hawaii, South Korea, Mongolia, Indonesia, Tonga, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Solomon Islands, The Philippines, Samoa, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vanuatu, Cambodia, the US and more.
Brett Graham / Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, Tainui / Aotearoa New Zealand b.1967 / Maungārongo ki te Whenua, Maungārongo ki te Tangata 2020 / Wood, synthetic polymer paint and graphite / 320 x 800 x 320cm / Courtesy: The artist and Neil Pardington / © Brett Graham and Neil Pardington / Photograph: Neil Pardington.
"As we work towards presenting an exhibition of key works acquired by QAGOMA through the thirty-year Asia Pacific Triennial series at the V&A Museum, London in early 2026, we have reflected closely on the significant cultural impact of the Triennial regionally and globally," said QAGOMA Director Chris Saines, announcing this year's lineup.
"As with previous Triennials, the 11th chapter will be presented throughout both QAG and GOMA and include works produced across vast geographies and cultural contexts, offering audiences a multiplicity of experiences, perspectives and diverse approaches to both contemporary and community-based customary art practices," Saines continued,
"Over the past three years our specialist curatorial team, led by Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art Tarun Nagesh, have shown an unrelenting commitment to on-the ground, in-country research in order to select artists who reflect a diverse and authentic cross-section of the region's artistic production."
Kikik Kollektive artist Marrz Capanang paints a collaborative mural in IIoilo City, Central Philippines, 2022 / © Kikik Kollektive / Photograph: Kristine Buenavista
Sarker Protick / Bangladesh b.1986 / 'লীন, Of River and Lost lands' (detail) 2011–ongoing / Inkjet print on paper / 50.8 x 76.2cm / Courtesy: The artist and Shrine Empire, Delhi / © Sarker Protick.
D Harding / Bidjara, Ghungalu and Garingbal people / Australia b.1982 / Wool blankets (installation view, 'We Breathe Together', Bergen Kunstall, Norway) 2021–22 / Wool felt, pigment, gum arabic / Courtesy: The artist and Milani Gallery, Brisbane / © D Harding / Photograph: Thor Brødreskift.
Rithika Merchant / India b.1986 / Temporal Structures 2023 / Gouache, watercolour and ink on paper / 105 x 150cm / Courtesy: The artist and TARQ, Mumbai / © Rithika Merchant
Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art's 11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT11) will run from Saturday, November 30, 2024–Sunday, April 27, 2025. For more information, head to the GOMA website.
Top image: United States b.1995 / The Machine Ghost in the Human Shell (from the 'Cyber Labour' series) 2024 / Performative hologram projections with AI / Installed dimensions variable / Commissioned for the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial / Courtesy: The artist and Nova Contemporary / © Kawita Vatanyankur.