Annual Review 2016

CONTEMPORARY ASIAN ART MIN THEIN SUNG MYANMAR b.1978 Another Realm (horses) (from ‘Another Realm’ series) 2015 Linen, copper wire, aluminium, rope, digital prints on paper / Horses: 300 x 600 x 100cm; 300 sheets: 29.7 x 42cm (each) / Developed for APT8 / Purchased 2016 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAGOMA Foundation HISTORICAL ASIAN ART JYOTI BHATT INDIA b.1934 A boy and three girls of the Chamar community, Kutch, Gujarat 1975, printed 2012 Gelatin silver photograph, ed. 1/10 / 23.5 x 34.7cm / Purchased 2016 with funds from an anonymous donor through the QAGOMA Foundation PACIFIC ART MARAANA VAMARASI FIJI b.1965 Ibe nauri (round mat) 2016 Mat: Woven somo (black mud dyed pandanus) fibre / 200cm (diam.) / Purchased 2016 with funds from the Oceania Women’s Fund through the QAGOMA Foundation Min Thein Sung’s playful 'Another Realm' series is inspired by the imaginative qualities of children’s toys and references Myanmar’s years of restricted international trade. This work, acquired with support from Win Schubert, ao , scales up a simple handmade object that would have been created as a copy of foreign toys seen on television and in books. Surrounded by images of Burmese comic-book pages collected by the artist and his friends, the work is symbolic of the slippage that occurs between image and representation in an isolated community, while simultaneously celebrating a spirit of creativity and adaptability. Jyoti Bhatt was an active member of the twentieth-century art movements in India and is now seen as an influential figure in the development of Indian contemporary art. While studying printmaking in New York, Bhatt was inspired to pick up a camera, and this digression became a dominant part of his practice after he returned to India, where he began to document regional communities and their traditional arts. This suite of exquisitely composed photographs spans two decades and captures rapidly evolving cultural practices in north-east India. Fijian textiles symbolise a connection to place as well as deep knowledge of the natural resources fundamental to life. Maraana Vamarasi made Ibe nauri with somo (black mud-dyed pandanus), normally used for only small areas of decoration. The play of light across its dark surface picks up the intricacy and textured beauty of Vamarasi’s skilled weaving. The Gallery’s Oceania Women’s Fund enabled the artist to explore the use of a double-weave process, resulting in this innovative and unique work. 58 ▼  REVIEW 2016 REVIEW 2016 ▼ 59 COLLECTION COLLECTION