Present Encounters : Papers from the conference of the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1996

is ru n ning h igh as interest levels escalate and dividends promise high returns', or perhaps somethi ng like 'The leadi ng Triennial indicators and the All media's index anticipate an increased share in the international contemporary art market stakes'. To mix metaphors fu rther, the image of a trade fair also comes to mind and is one at wh ich some critics in the past have predictably baulked , seeing such a comparison as an erosion of a ca refu lly orchestrated mystique so essential to the maintenance of a safe critical distance between the viewer and the object. However, such a protective stance i n this scenario i nvites disru ption and dispersal . This fear of association with the merchant class and salesmanshi p is outmoded , overly precious and borderi ng on the cu ltural cri nge. I t i s an unreal istic stance that denies the APT its innate transactional powers; its language of exchange and its street appeal so evident in microcosm in Santiago Bose's installation Trade wars in the 1 993 APT where a series of stalls take on the atmosphere of a marketplace. Perhaps the image of a tribal art market or bazaar in the 1 996 Triennial is more particularly experienced in the Pacific and Aborig inal selections in which I was most directly i nvolved . Nevertheless, the APT as a whole is a place where artists from different countries do display the best of their artistic wares to the best advantage and are involved in cultural exchanges for viewer/consumers. There is no denying the competitive element evident i n both the selection and placement of works in which artists attempt to get the best position on the floor to showcase their work to the g reatest advantage, creating tensions with creative outcomes. It is healthy and human and reveals the value artists and curators place on having a stand in this pavilion. But perhaps we could apply the more feminist metaphor of a patchwork quilt to visualise the Triennial. Qu i lts are often associated with the movement of peoples and cultural journeys through h istory and across national borders du ring transportation or migration. They are bits of culture and personal history pieced together to form a whole which adds to the total texture whilst retai ning individual identity. If we take the view that the Gallery bu ilding determi nes the physical parameters and borders imposed by the edges and borders of a quilt, the organic interpenetrating shapes of a h igh key pai nting by Lucy Yukenbar Napanangka from 1 990 is a pertinent visualisation with its references to a wholistic and spiritual dimension . The potential for all views to co-exist simultaneously is only dispersed by the angle you assume in order to direct your view, not unlike the kaleidoscopic views a mobile eye receives through a prism . It needn 't be an either-or situation for any more than an instant. I nstallations like this sprawling , rambling array of intellectual/artistic wares offer what Everlyn N i codemus describes as 'a temptation to forget about parad igms and systems and to perceive a h istory and art liquefied into an endless flow of - polymorphic and fascinating - visual production'. 5 1 . Everlyn Nicodemus, 'Art and Art from Africa: The Two Sides of the Gap', in Third Text, No. 33, Winter 1 995-6, p.31 . 2. Campfire Group (Aboriginal Corporation ) is a collective made up of (essentially) I ndigenous artists initiating contemporary art projects based on cultural exchange and cultural collaboration in an effort to p rovide a bridge between contemporary Indigenous art practice and the world. 3. The painting of truck parts by visiting Aboriginal artists continued over the following year at Fire­ works Gallery. These parts have been assembled in various configurations in a range of locations and exhibitions, and continue to change the form of this ongoing project. 4. Aboriginal children who were taken away from their parents under the Aborig inal Protection Act first established in 1 909. Children were removed from 1 939 until the l ate 1 960s for the purposes of assim ilation. In recent times this issue has been addressed in the Human Rights Commission of Inquiry I nto the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Children From Their Families. It is an issue commanding a g reat deal of attention in Australia at present. 5. Op. cit. , Nicodemus, p.31 . 79