In Finite Blue Planet # 3

The power of Landscape

Gai Anderson

 

Subankar Banerjee

 

Caribou Migration I,Brant and Snow Geese with Chicks, Caribou Tracks on Tundra, Caribou Tracks on Coal Seams II.

The power of landscape continues with the work of New York Based Indian Artist Subhankar Banerjee. The beauty of his large-scale, incredibly detailed still-photography –  aerial views of pristine  landscapes – is startling.

The combination of composition, colour, light and form grab you immediately, like the most exquisite paintings. But then slowly, as you move in to take a closer look at the incredible detail of the environments he captures, a different vision begins to appear. For these landscapes are alive with beings - caribou and snow geese in this case.

In Finite Blue Planet #2

by Gai Anderson

Water as Danger  

PHIL HASTINGS 

Steadfast, 2009

Water continues as a theme in the 7-minute film Steadfast, where U.S. artist Phil Hastings uses the interaction of man and water to comment on the human condition – which like the ocean is ever changing.

Last Bight at the Biennale - In Finite Blue Planet

by Gai Anderson

 

Focus rather than scatter
With one small bight at the Biennale of Sydney already under my belt I feel like I could have taken a month to begin to take it all in. My first Sunday at Cockatoo Island was one of total scatter -  overwhelmed by the surging crowds and imposing nature of the site, the art works for the most seemed random in quality and difficult to even get at.  

Back for another bight and this time, having researched the curatorial premise in more detail ( thanks Lucy Wilson, see Art Wank), I will  focus-in on the Art Gallery of NSW where 26 artist are presented  side by side ( on two floors) as In Finite Blue oceans.

A bit more Biennale: water, water everywhere...

by Stephenie Cahalan

The title of the Biennale collection at the Art Gallery of NSW was ‘In finite blue planet’ inspired by an unimposing little piece of art placed by the entry to the exhibition.

Not much larger than a soccer ball and modestly framed, the image appeared at a distance to be a simple globe. On closer inspection, I realised that it was a planet comprised entirely of the seas, oceans and waterways of the world, with all the landmasses excised to leave only the water.

As Tasmania awaits the arrival of a supertrawler, heralding the advent of factory fishing in Australian waters (a third-world ecological disaster springing to right life here at home), the immense importance of the world’s waters has searing relevance right now.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales

by Stephenie Cahalan

After the modern, casual and relaxed vibe of the MCA, then the gritty reinvention of Cockatoo Island, day three of our Sydney Biennale binge took us to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It is a classical gallery, complete with stately facade and a charming, uniformed man in the cloakroom. It is orderly, earnest and heavy with the gravitas of an institution groaning under the weight of art of every era and provenance.

Here the Biennale does not take centre stage but shares the space with other visiting and permanent exhibitions. So does it suffer for being crammed in amongst many other outstanding and ferociously famous displays? I don't think so. The Biennale as found here at the AGNSW continues to offer an exciting journey into contemporary art, in so many thoughtful, creative, imaginative and downright clever forms.

Baby powder, embroidery, burnt microscopes, organic matter, rubber thongs, maps, more maps, digital imagery, sound and movement. Oceans, water, trees, migratory paths, ice, cities, river plains and dammed gorges. There is so much going on and I recall no piece of work that I walked away from without feeling a sense of profound respect for the artist.

Everything is going to be alright by Guido van der Werwe

So now that I have described three of the major Biennale venues, I feel like I can go back and revisit the details of the works. Where to begin…