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Takahiro Iwasaki (Japan), ReflectionMod el (PerfectB liss) , 2010-12. Installation viewTHE 7 th ASIA PACIFIC TRIENNIALQueensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art Brisbane 8 December2012-14 Apri l 2013 HE Asia Pacific Triennialof Contemporary Art (APT),which was first held in 1993,now marks its 20th anniversaryand, as with any biennale or trien-nial passing a major milestone,questions of tsrelevance come tothe fore.The Biennale of Sydney, whichbegan 20 years earlier in 1973,ha slong passed its use-by date andcarries on largely through inertiaand the pressure of tradition. Itsoriginal purpose of keeping Aus-tralian art up to date by showingthe latest trends and developmentsfrom abroad m akes little sense inthe second decade of the 21stcentury, when we are no longerheld back by the time lag factorcaused by a lack of travel op por-tunities, publications, high qualityreproductions or access to infor-mation on contemporary art. Onthe contrary, today we are utterlyswamped with information, bothGreg Semu (New Zealand/Aus-tralia), Untitled (from The Battleof the NobleSavage series) ,2007,reprinted2012, digital print on PVCcanvas,ISOx 250 cm. Edition 10

An-My Le (Vietnam/US), PatientAdmission,USNaval Hospital ShipMercy, Vietnam (from Events Ashore series), 2010, archival inkjetpigment print on 380 gsmHarman Professional InkJet papermounted onsintra, 101.6 x 143.5 cm . Edition 2/5electronically and in hard copy,and the poorly funded Sydneybiennales appear as interesting andas relevant to contem porary A us-tralian artists as old issues of auc-tion catalogues. Today it continuesmore as a trade fair and as a tour-ist attraction.

Th e huge difference w ith the APTexhibitions is that they do notessentially set out to reflect whatis happening elsewhere; they arethe major trendsetters and it is therest of the world which takes note.They have become the centre forrecording developments in contem -

Lorraine Connelly-Northey (Aus-tralia, Waradgeriepeople NSW/VIC)Narbong (String bag) , 2012, foundmaterials, 10pieces,variable sizesporary art from the Asia Pacificregion. The Triennial is relevantbecause it is the benchmark exhi-bition and it is the only one doin git on such a scale and with suchstyle and consistency.One can argue and should argueabout geographical definitions.Should the Asia Pacific be thoug htof as being Asia and the Pacificand include Turkey, Egypt, Iranand K azakhstan, as has been donein this exhibition, or should thatbe left to the Istanbul Biennial?Should one stick more to the coreareas with greater emphasis onFiji, Burma, K iribati, Camb odia,Tonga an d so on, all of which havebeen largely excluded from APT7?Should one th ink of it as the A sia-Pacific rim and include the WestCoast US, where there has beena lively exchange with AustralianParamodel (Japan, established2001paramodelic- graffiti installa-tion view), 2010 installationview,Otani Memorial Art Museum,Nishinomiya City, Japan

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Eiona Tan (Indonesia/Netherlands), CloudIsland (still), 2010,single-channel HD video projection, 47 minutesart for more than 150 years? Th egeographic understan ding of Asia-Pacific remains a core questionfor this Triennial. Asia Pacific wasoriginally spelt with a hyphen forAPT 1, but t hen it was airbrushedfrom existence.The APT came into being in 1993as quite a modest affair, but gen-erated immense excitement andintellectual energy. About 60,000people visited the inaugu ral event.With the APT in 2006, the Gal-lery of Modern Art (GoMA) wasadded to the venue, more thandoubling the display space, andsome 700,000 visitors attended itthat year. At APT7we have over290 exhibits by 75 artists from 27countries spread across the twoadjoining venues. The APT nowoperates like a well oiled m achineand one has grown to anticipate aspectacular installation in the longhall of GoMA and some overar-L.N. Tallur (India/South K orea),Unicode (33) , 2011, bronze, Dayanita Singh (India), Nalin and Natasha (from What happened iscoins, concrete, 183 x 152 x 117 cm this series) , 1996, pigment print, 70 x 70 cm

ching installation over the watermall in the other building. Thesehuge site-specific installations havebecome the anticipated featuresof this and previous triennials.One spectacula r focus of this year sAPT is on the art of Papua NewGuinea, including the giant SpiritHouse (korumbo) constructed bythe Brikiti Cultural group as a site-specific installation. There is alsothe huge and beautifully carvedBisj pole, and the incredible ritualmasks by the Arawe, Sulka, Pomioand B aining peoples, also masksby Damien Gulldedep and AlexGabour, as well as those from thevillage of Yenchen. T her e is alwaysthe problem of the translation ofritualistic ephemeral artefacts intomuseum objects once the plantshave withered, the fragrance of theflowers has gone and the music

Nguyen Manh Hung (Vietnam),Living Together inParadise (detail),2009, mixed media installation,dimensions variableand ch ant have disappeared. It isa very fine line that any institutionthreads betwe en a culturally sen-sitive theme park, a transculturalattempt at preservation of a van-ishing culture, or a glitzy displayof exotica. For me the present dis-plays are mesmerising in theirbeauty, and the accompanying wellillustrated catalogue, containingM arti n Fowler s brilliant essay,make the APT7 into a beautifuland meaningful experience.Another highlight is the wonderfulpaintings and carvings by the Tiw iartist Timothy Cook with thethree enormous Pukamani polesand large Kulama paintings. Th eexperience of this work, accompa-nied by the Tiwi dancers and theNguyen Thai Tuan (Vietnam),Black Painting No. 80 , 2009, oiloncanvas, 130 x 110 cm .

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artist singing it into being, gaveall of this a special potency. Ge n-erally, in the selection of some ofthe Australian Indigenous there isa strong sense of curatorial fashion,with Lorraine Connelly-Northey'sgiant handbags, narbongs andkoolimans made out of discardedrusted metal, and Michael Cook'spostcolonial photomontages invogue. I admire the work of bothartists, but of late there seems tohave been a bit of an over expo-sure to it.Over the 20 years which has sepa-rated the first APT and the onetoday, there has been a dramaticsocial and economic repositioningof Asia. Urbanisation has acceler-ated dramatically, the m iddle classhas become a major and rapidlygrowing force to be reckoned with,and the place has become linkedup through broadband with theinternet and mobile phones, asMichael Wesley has argued in hiscatalogue essay. The Indonesianart is t , Hahan (Uji Handoko EkoSaputro) is one of the few artistsin this exhibition who combinesa healthy dose of street art, punk

UjiHandoko Fko Saputro (Indonesia), TheNe wProphe t (from Trinity series), 2011, polyesterresin and air brush, ht 100 x 75 x 100 cmmusic, comics and Javanese mjTii-ology to add a bit of spice in theircriticism of the art world.Parastou Forouhar san interestingIranian artist whose work I havelong admired and her site specific w ritten roo m with floating Farsicalligraphy creates a remarkable

Timothy Cook (Australia,Tiwipeople, N T), Kulama ,2012, ochre and natural pigments, with acrylic binder onlinen, 180 x 200 cm

AlmagulMenlibayeva (Kazakhstan/Germany), Kurdiatov 22 (still),2012, five-channel HD video projection, 26 minutes, with English subtitles

Sara Rahbar (Iran/US), GloriousHaze ,2012, handwoven textiles, with militaryaccoutrements, found objects, 150 x 89 cm

Madein Company (China,est. 2009), Spread 201009103 , 2010, nylon,plywood plastic,plaster palm ibre paint, approx. size 500 x 400 x 400 cm

meditative space, one, where I'mtold, that mean ing remains obscureto even those conversant with thelanguage. Entering her environ-ment is like being enveloped withina seductive dream.Of the strong selection of videowork, for me the most memorablepiece is by the Turkish artist, InciEviner, where in Broken Manifestosthere's a healthy dose of the absurdas all is submerged into a world ofdancing figures.This is one of the strongest APTexhibitions to date and despitereservations concernin g some ofthe inclusions and tedious glitter,it has a strength and integrity thatis rarely en countered in a culturalfestival that has run for 20 years. rofSasha Grishin AM FAHA

The Sir William Dobell Professor of ArtHistory. Head, Art History, ANU.Damien Gulkledep (Papua NewGuinea,Pomio people, Bitapaka),Avalau , 2011,mask mixedmedia,fabrics, paint, 131x 66 cm (diam.)

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C o p y r i g h t o f C r a f t A r t s I n t e r n a t i o n a l i s t h e p r o p e r t y o f C r a f t A r t P t y L i m i t e d a n d i t s c o n t e n t

m a y n o t b e c o p i e d o r e m a i l e d t o m u l t i p l e s i t e s o r p o s t e d t o a l i s t s e r v w i t h o u t t h e c o p y r i g h t

h o l d e r ' s e x p r e s s w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . H o w e v e r , u s e r s m a y p r i n t , d o w n l o a d , o r e m a i l a r t i c l e s f o r

i n d i v i d u a l u s e .