2007-08 Report

QUEENSLAND ART GALLERY ANNUAL REPORT 2007–08

COLLECTION

DISPLAYING THE COLLECTION (GoMA)

AUSTRALIAN ART

Works exhibited included Fiona Hall's 17-metre long

Words

1990; ceramics by senior Queensland Indigenous

artist Thanakupi; and major works included in cross-

collection contemporary displays such as Robert

MacPherson's

Scale from the tool colour group

1977–78;

Patricia Piccinini's sculptures

Passion flower

and

Heaven

bound

, both 2002; and newly acquired works such as

charcoal portraits by Vernon Ah Kee, Natalya Hughes's

Two sisters

2006, and photographs by Judith Wright from

the

One dances

suite of 2003.

A selection of Hermannsburg pots, and later a group of

works by Tracey Moffatt, Scott Redford and a new

acquisition by Callum Morton, were also displayed.

Sand : Savanna : Salt

This display (5 October 2007 – 5 April 2008) included

work from such diverse regions as sandy deserts, tropical

grasslands and the seas and islands of the northern

regions of Australia. These complex environments

informed style and content, as did the creation narratives

which provided a catalyst for the paintings, ceramics,

digital media, fibre and wooden sculptures displayed.

Works by Indigenous Australian artists from north

Queensland, Torres Strait Islands, Western Australia and

Northern Territory were included, largely drawn from the

Gallery's Collection. Artists included Rover Thomas from

the Kimberley in Western Australia, Pedro Wonaeamirri

from the Tiwi Islands, Allson Edrick Tabuai and James Eseli

of the Torres Strait Islands, and Queensland artists

Vincent Serico and Thanakupi. Important ceremonial

sculptural pieces by Aurukun artists Arthur Pambegan Jr

and Joe Ngalametta also featured.

ASIAN AND PACIFIC ART

A Space for Healing

This display (3 May – 6 July 2008), with the themes of

healing, reconciliation and reflection, was a response to

the installation by Lee Mingwei,

Gernika in sand

, in the

adjacent gallery. Rummana Hussain's installation

A space

for healing

1999 strives for a personal resolution to a

situation of conflict, and provided the conceptual centre

for this display. Also displayed were prints by Palestinian

artist Emily Jacir; paintings by Sri Lankan artist

Chandraguptha Thenuwara; sculptures by Rei Naito

(Japan), Montien Boonma (Thailand) and NN Rimzon

(India); as well as an installation by Jose Legaspi

(Philippines).

Endless dancing

and the Chinese contemporary display

Presented in a circular configuration of monitors

(8 October 2007 – 6 April 2008), Zhang Peili's video

installation

Endless dancing

1999 was the point of

departure for a Collection rotation reflecting on issues in

contemporary Chinese art. Based around ideas of

performance and process, the display included a suite of

recently acquired photographs by Wang Jin documenting

a performance in central China; Wang Qingsong's

magnificent theatrical tableaux

Night revels of Lao Li

2000; Song Dong's reflective

Stamping the water

1996;

and a wall-based installation by Wang Zhiyuan, using

symbolic objects associated with daily life and

Chinese culture.

Lee Mingwei's letter-writing project

Writing the unspoken

1999 was originally created for

'Beyond the Future: The Third Asia Pacific Triennial of

Contemporary Art' exhibition in 1999. It was on display

from 8 October 2007 to 6 April 2008. Developed from the

artist's need to communicate feelings of love and grief

following his grandmother's death, the work consists of

three letter-writing booths. Visitors are invited to reflect

and write on feelings of gratitude and forgiveness; letters

with addresses are sent while others remain on display.

Vassan Sitthiket's 'Inferno' series

The nine paintings from Vasan Sitthiket's 1991 'Inferno'

series were displayed from 8 October 2007 to 6 April

2008. Sitthiket is recognised as a leading Thai artist who

creates political debate through his work. These paintings

directly reference a key Thai Buddhist text,

Traibhum-Phra

Ruang

, which graphically describes the punishments due

to those who sin.

All or Nothing: Contemporary Works by Women

This cross-collection installation (19 November 2007 –

10 March 2008) included work by female artists from

Japan, the United States, Laos, Australia and New

Zealand. Highlights from the Asian and Pacific collections

included Yayoi Kusama's

Soul under the moon

2002 and a

recently acquired suite of six photographs by New Zealand

photographer Anne Noble.

Anne Noble's

Ruby's room

is an ongoing series of works,

begun in 1998, which forms an intimate record of the

artist's daughter through what she has described as

'close scrutiny of a site where life happens — the mouth'.

In each image, Ruby's pale, luminous cheeks, her small

open mouth and the almost toxic stains of colour on her

tongue and mouth are both innocent and confronting.

INTERNATIONAL ART

Works from the international art collection were

integrated into several cross-collection displays. New

acquisitions displayed included a large-scale work by

Pierre Bismuth (France) and three works by Katharina

Grosse (Germany) that were acquired at the time of the

artist's exhibition 'Katharina Grosse: Picture Park'. 'The

Leisure Class' included international collection works by

Aernout Mik (The Netherlands), Pierre Bismuth (France)

and Andrea Fraser (United States), which were displayed

alongside loans from an international group of lenders.

Selections from the Gallery's rich holdings of Fluxus

works, displayed in the Foyer cabinet, featured George

Brecht (United States), Philip Corner (United States),

Henri Chopin (France), Milan Knizak (Czech Republic) and

Eugenio Miccini (Italy).

Jake Chapman

England b.1966

Dinos Chapman

England b. 1962

Etchasketchathon 07

2005

Etching on 300 gsm Somerset TP

paper

Purchased 2008. Queensland Art

Gallery Foundation Appeal

The Paragon Press, 2005