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

SESSION 1 : GLOBALISATION VERSUS UN IQUE IDENTITI ES Caroline Turner Mirror of the Future: Shadows Before First I wou ld like to pay tri bute to some absent friends: two artists, the late Sudjana Kerton and the late Roberto Villanueva, both of whom passed away in the interval between the Triennials. I also wish to convey the best wishes of several cu rators who were unable to travel to Brisbane - Geeta Kapur, Apinan Poshyananda, Tosh io Hara , I melda Cajipe-Endaya and Redza Piyadasa . I would like to welcome many old friends. Ten years ago a distinguished historian made the remark: The only thing we can know about the future is that it will be different from the past and in ways that we least expect.' That prediction was made before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin wal l , before t he i mplosion of t he argument that t he only significant contemporary art originated in the great Western centres, and before postmodern ism was more than the latest academic theory and could be seen instead as an umbrella term for changing real ities in a new world order. We cannot predict the future, but coming events can 'cast their shadows before'. Hence the title of my paper, which also refers to the continuing presence of the ideas, issues and people from the fi rst Triennial in our deliberations at this Conference. The pu rpose of my remarks is to briefly introduce some of those ideas and issues so that we can move on in the processes of the Triennial debate. The Triennial project is sustained by the principles of engagement and enquiry, and on forming long-term relationships based on mutual respect. The intellectual basis of the Triennial is thus built on the knowledge and experience of many Australian, Asian and Pacific artists, writers and curators brought together in a powerful collective devoted to the exchange of ideas. Forty-two Australian and international curators have formed our curatorial teams, and seventy-seven international writers have contributed to our catalogue. Most of them are here at this Conference. The Second Triennial exhibition is different from the First. Those d ifferences can in part be explained by the decision to focus this exhibition on the issues of the present. Our strong emphasis on a continuing series of exhibitions over time is in recogn ition that our individual and collective ideas and comprehension may shift and change. As Chinese artist Xu Hong remarked at the last Triennial Conference, 'If you look at a leopard through a tube of bamboo you only see one spot'. The Trienn ial process recognises also that artistic and cultural expressions cannot be encompassed by national boundaries, and that the voices of artists are of paramount concern . The intention of the exhibition and Conference is to provide a forum for distinctive and diverse views. It must be acknowledged that the Triennial utilises the skil ls of many Australians who have built contacts with the region and it is important also to acknowledge exhibitions such as ARX (Artists' Regional Exchange, Perth) and also the regional Asian forums and pioneer initiatives such as the Fukuoka Asian Art Show. I don't want to spend time d iscussing Austral ia's role in this forum. It is axiomatic to the Triennial that Australia is only one equal participant among many, and this Triennial Conference is only one event among many that wi ll take place in the reg ion. Australia is not in a position to dictate the outcomes or pred icate a new paradigm for 19