11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

state of indigenous culture and sovereignty in the wake of colonial oppression. In this scenario, the memories of the time traveller and the imagination of the warrior collide, resulting in a present moment that destabilises the certainty of past and future realities. Important contributions to the recently coined ‘lo-fi sci-fi’ canon, these films use time travel as a device to generate new narrative spaces that dispel assumptions of developing countries as non-futuristic. 3 These films also avoid the superficial trappings of conventional science fiction in favour of a more authentic rhetoric that locates the future at the intersection of ancient practices and technology. Alongside forecasts of futures untold, filmmakers in the region are also using the veil of science fiction to understand our place in the world. The coming together of technology, culture and identity marks a significant step forward in the evolution of humanity. Accordingly, a well-established facet of contemporary post-humanist thinking, robotics challenges ideas of what it means to be human. The recently restored Cuo wei (Dislocation) 1986 by director Huang Jianxin takes a comedic look at the human–robot dynamic. The film's vibrant aesthetic, partnered with a discussion of retro-futuristic technology, creates a disjunction between past and present, resulting in a cautionary tale of an unmitigated dependence on technology. Other films in the program explore technology as an extension of the body, proposing future realities where organic and manufactured matter are entwined. This amalgamation is explored by Cao Fei in Nova 2019, which tells the story of a computer scientist who accidentally transforms his son into a digital entity, forever trapped in cyberspace. This fracturing of identity through technology is also the subject of the short film Delivery Dancer’s Sphere 2022 by Ayoung Kim. In Kim’s hybrid, live-action, game-engine-animated film, time travel is commodified by couriers who can bend the conventions of space and time for financial gain, ultimately leading to an irreversible split of a dancer’s consciousness across the space– time continuum. As we edge closer towards a reality that understands the connection between humans and machines as a symbiotic relationship, the ethical dilemmas accompanying synthetic intelligence bring the importance of culture to the fore. As migration across Asia and the Pacific — and the world — increases, cultures and traditions become further interwoven, resulting in new states of existence. In this sense, aliens are beings that leave one culture or environment to inhabit another. Often portrayed in cinema as humanoids, the concept of the alien allows the exploration of two concerns of the Asian and Pacific diaspora: identity and belonging. Based in London, Sin Wai Kin combines visual imagery from traditional Chinese dramaturgy with contemporary drag performance to generate personas prescient of an evolved state of humanity. In Dreaming the End 2023, a cast of otherworldly characters ruminate on the construct of ‘name’ to challenge the illusory conditions of reality and the mutable nature of identity. This sentiment resonates in Justin Shoulder and Bhenji Ra’s From Creature ~ From Creation 2017, part of the ‘Ex Nilalang’ series of moving-image works. Set in an alternative, computer- generated reality, the film revisits the Filipino original myth of Maganda and Malakas, the first human beings on Earth. In this speculative version, the two characters performed by Ra and Shoulder become fluid beings devoid of a clear gender and identity, while their choreography recalls an invocation to the reparative power of forgotten ancient spirits. Like Sin Wai Kin, Shoulder and Ra use traditional storytelling to create a futuristic allegory that serves to explore the intersections of queer identities and the Filipino diaspora. In these films, the eroticisation of Asian and Pacific culture comes full circle, acting as a mirror reflecting cultural appropriation back onto itself, resulting in an entirely new identity. 4 In cinema’s current era, filmmakers from Asia and the Pacific are reconfiguring traditional science-fiction narratives by integrating culture and history. By asking the question ‘what if?’, this suite of films considers what the movement of humanity — both in terms of geography and evolution — means for our environmental future, our personal and cultural identities, and our memories across the region. VICTORIAWAREHAM CHILDRENOF INDEPENDENCE: THE RISEOFCENTRAL ASIANCINEMA Emerging from years of Soviet Union rule, the rise of cinema in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan since 1991 offers an exciting insight into the region with contemporary filmmakers having much to say about society, culture and tradition. 1 Often unflinching in their approach to difficult and sometimes taboo subjects, the articulate and award‑winning films showcased in ‘Children of Independence: The Rise of Central Asian Cinema’ champion stories of vulnerable and exploited people. Under Soviet rule, film production — like many aspects of everyday life — was closely monitored and controlled, with heightened sensitivity directed towards criticism, perceived or otherwise, of the State. While each of these four countries have long-established film industries, it was only after the collapse of the Soviet Union and gaining independence in 1991 that these cinemas began to develop more nuanced and culturally specific storytelling. Understandably, each country’s cinema has developed differently, in terms of its pace of change and depth of production; Kazakhstan’s filmmaking landscape has flourished, while Tajikistan is only just beginning to make features that screen outside its borders and relies on co-production countries. Melody 2023, for example, features a largely Iranian crew and director. ‘Children of Independence' focuses attention on this new wave of Central Asian filmmaking by capturing the work of young practitioners born since the declaration of independence, together with the small number of veteran filmmakers recently emboldened by a relaxation of censorship. These directors have seized the opportunity to shed light on previously taboo subjects by exploring once denied historical truths and contentious aspects of contemporary life. The Asia Pacific Triennial presents an opportunity to open a window onto the filmmaking practices of these nations by highlighting places and cultures rarely seen on Australian cinema screens. Like many of their Asian and Pacific regional counterparts, Central Asian filmmakers explore the effects of rapid cultural, economic and political change in their work. Embedded in the narratives of many films from Central Asia is an examination of traditional values and customs, and how they apply to the changing contemporary landscape. Uzbek filmmaker Shokir Kholikov explores ageing and the disruption of technology in his film Yakshanba ( Sunday ) 2023. Situating an elderly couple at the heart of his film, Kholikov depicts their struggles with new technology, as it is introduced into their simple and peaceful way of life. Similarly in the Iran–Tajikistan co-production Melody 2023, written and directed by Behrouz Sebt Rasoul, cherished traditional values and NOTES 1 ‘Techno-orientalism’ is a term coined by David Morley and Kevin Robins in Spaces of Identity: Global Media, Electronic Landscapes and Cultural Boundaries (Routledge, London, 1995) to describe the European and North American perception of East Asia as aesthetically emblematic of near futures. 2 See ‘Subash Thebe Limbu’, in The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art , Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, South Brisbane, 2021, pp.162–3. 3 See ‘Panel discussion: Asian futurisms’, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art [YouTube], 13 January 2021, <youtube.com/watch?v=o5-F2FGy1mQ >, viewed April 2024. 4 Dawn Chan, ‘Asia-futurism’, Artforum , summer 2016, <artforum.com/columns/asia-futurism-229189> , viewed March 2024. Production still from Yakshanba ( Sunday ) 2023 / Director: Shokir Kholikov / Digital, colour, stereo, 97 minutes, Uzbekistan, Uzbek (English subtitles) / Image courtesy: A Films CINEMA 224 — 225 ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL