11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

havens for spiritual contemplation, places to tend and nurture growth and reciprocity, as well as a means of survival and subsistence. They are also places where we work with our hands to foster new life, often sharing the fruits of that labour with others in gestures of care, goodwill and peace — as Haus Yuriyal’s abundant living garden in the Queensland Art Gallery’s Sculpture Courtyard demonstrates. Consciousness of environmental responsibility is also evident in the cultivation and weaving of kuta reeds by ‘Aunofo Havea Funaki and the Lepamahanga Women’s Group, a cultural practice closely connected to their immediate environment that also ensures a healthy ecosystem. Rivers and oceans provide another focus for the custodianship of the natural world. Projects by collectives AWA and Paemanu, the collaboration between KAWAKI and Dreamcast Theatre from the Solomon Islands, and the works of Sarker Protick emphasise waterways and their cultural and environmental significance. A new work by the late Bernice Akamine (1949–2024) adds depth to these concepts, offering a profound reflection on the Hawaiian creation chant that celebrates the shared genealogy and interconnected welfare of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi (native Hawaiians) and all beings in the natural world. These projects illustrate how deeply connected cultural practices are to the artists’ natural surroundings, highlighting the necessity of preserving these environments for future generations. Dynamics and technologies of power and authority operating in social, natural and urban spaces form another major thread between artworks in this Triennial. Brett Graham’s monumental sculptural installations evoke colonial histories of surveillance and military violence in Aotearoa New Zealand, offering models of peaceful resistance and solidarity. These themes also resonate in Dana Awartani’s reflections on ruins and healing, particularly through her references to the Arabic trope of ‘ruin poetry’ (wuquf ‘ala al-atlal), and in the advocacy of artists from Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago for peaceful coexistence across the tri-culture of their region. Wang Tuo approaches historical legacies and systems of surveillance and control through narrative, dialogue and dance, while CAMP employs surveillance technology in creating new forms of documentary film. Saodat Ismailova delves into Uzbek film archives, including rare Soviet‑era propaganda films, and Filwa Nazer draws on intimate interviews with local women to reflect on public and private space in Saudi Arabia. Tully Arnot, Angela Goh, Mit Jai Inn and Laresa Kosloff intervene in the physical structures and operational conventions of the gallery space, playing with its architectures, technologies and social peculiarities, while other projects (left) Mai Nguyễn-Long in her Bulli Studio 2022 / Image courtesy: The artist / Photograph: Saskia Wilson; (right) ‘Aunofo Havea Funaki / Image courtesy: The artist Lê Thúy in her Hội An studio, Việt Nam, working on Echo 2023 / Image courtesy: The artist ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL 34 — 35 CURATORIAL INTRODUCTION