The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art exhibition catalogue (APT2)

association of different artists' works. Nevertheless, as in the last Triennial, common themes emerged. These can be loosely identified under ten, sometimes interrelated, categories: • History: Memories of the past • The revitalisation and reinvestment of traditions • Religion and spirituality • Issues of personal identity • Questions of gender and sexuality • The natural environment • The urban transformation • Popular culture/ counter culture/ cultural iconoclasm • Problems of society • Assertions of local and cultural identities The cultural interactions of our world deny easy definitions. The constant pressures, economic, political and technological, that make up these multifaceted interactions do not lead to an inevitable sameness. Fumio Nanjo's exhibition 'TransCulture', Venice, 1995, challenged curators to understand the context in which the art was created: 'Without a knowledge of the social and cultural context within which it [contemporary art] is created, a true understanding is impossible'. 6 Transculture implies the existence of cultural pluralities. For all the talk of increasing globalisation and homogeneity in world culture, the art of our region continues to reveal striking diversity. The survival of cultural identities thought lost emphasises the resilience of traditions, memory and history. The consistent desire to revitalise and reinvest traditions and to celebrate those traditions anew (as in the Pacific art in this exhibition) is a consistent feature of artistic endeavour. Some new approaches reject Western imperatives; while others integrate and synthesise Western art and ideas with local cultural traditions. Cultural interaction is no new phenomenon in the region and has taken place over the centuries. Buddhist artistic styles from India adapted within a century in China to Chinese aesthetic sensibility; Tang dynasty painting from China adapted by the Japanese to create the yamato-e style of Japanese painting; Indian, Khmer and Chinese influences assimilated into Thai art; and Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam synthesising with Javanese mysticism in Indonesia are some examples of this interaction. Today we see the fusing of clanic and Western imagery in the art of Papua New Guinea. The importance of fountainhead cultures, such as India and China, overrides later Western influence. Today's contemporary art is inevitably the product of past cultural encounters and present conditions. 12 I Es sAvs Some artists look to universal human values and to the development of new cultural identities which will transcend national boundaries. The potential blurring of the concept of the nation state in today's world and the creation of new local and regional identities may well be an even stronger theme in the next exhibition. Artists in this exhibition bring into sharp focus the unequal and exploitative nature of some intercultural relationships. Artists and writers are also questioning 'Western' values in today's world and the continuing cultural and economic imperialism by nations of the first world. The pressures towards cultural convergence through shared technology and popular culture are seen with alarm by some artists. At first sight, the theme of religion does not seem so well represented as in 1993 but in many cases religion is absolutely integral to the individual artist's world view and shapes his or her art in ways which are incomprehensible without an understanding of spiritual beliefs. Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity are some of the faiths which infuse the imagery and interpretations of life. The power of religion to inspire, sometimes to provide a counterpoint for more general social concerns, and to enshrine a communal as well as an individual world view, should not be underestimated. The theme of gender and sexuality is a wide– ranging one which encompasses work as varied as that of female artists who assert a stronger role for women in society, and artists who deal directly with human sexuality and the physical dimension of our individual existences. At times the human body can be interpreted as a metaphor for social issues. A characteristic of much of the art of the region is the concern by so many artists with problems in society. This interconnection with their communities and their belief that art should serve the community is in contrast to the frequent alienation of artists in the West from society and society's problems. The changing urban and natural environments, ecological destruction and degradation, the close links between human beings and land and sea, are powerful sources of inspiration in the art in the exhibition. Perhaps the cultural guerrillas of the exhibition, and those artists who use popular culture and a counter culture in their imagery, provoke the most questions about our changing societies. For the curators of this exhibition to be aware of difference is not necessarily to fall into the trap of a new 'Orientalism' or new exoticism. One of the difficulties for us in Australia is reconciling our short historical memories with people whose memories comprehend an almost geological span of not hundreds but thousands of years. The indigenous people of Australia are one example. The Pacific peoples in this exhibition, who share this world view, have provided a particularly important new path in interpreting art. But there are challenging questions in Pacific art also and Jonathan Mane– Wheoki reminds us of some of these, including the transformation of Aotearoa/New Zealand into a country with a more culturally diverse Pacific identity. In Asia also, the span of ancient cultures and the comprehension of long cultural development make Western influence seem potentially insignificant in the broader sweep of history. Cultural change and syncretism in this region have taken place over the centuries and yet cultural distinctions remain. In artistic terms Western modernism and the cultural exchanges of the twentieth century are one episode of a very long story. Geeta Kapur, Jim Supangkat and Julie Ewington in their essays in this catalogue raise questions which challenge Western art historio– graphy and propose more plural readings of the story of art in this region. T.K. Sabapathy reminds us that a South-East Asian art historiography can provide a new contextualisation for intellectual debate and that present encounters may be phenomena as transient as past hegemonies. Japanese, Korean and Chinese writers throw new light on current developments in a changing world order.The narrow conclusions of Western art historians are shattered by the refraction of a mirror which is increasingly seen to reflect not an image of the West but entirely different features. Artists today are global travellers and artists in Bangkok, Brisbane, Bombay and Beijing are becoming equally aware of one another's exhibitions, just as they are of exhibitions in New York or Tokyo, Paris or Berlin. Contemporary artists have an important role in the cultural engagements of the world. The positive aspect of growing world interdependence and intercultural exchanges is revealed in the stimulating and generous sharing of new ideas at events such as the Triennial. Cultural interaction is not always on terms of equality. Issues of colonialism are very much in the past but this exhibition conveys a strong intimation of a reaction against continuing cultural and economic imperialism by the first world and the destruction of local identities and cultural values through unequal power relationships. Lingering Cold War hegemonies and new power politics combine to make the world an uneasy place, full of uncertainties and tensions, as well as possibilities. Contemporary art continues to reflect these uncertainties. In the catalogue introduction to the last Triennial, I referred to Edward Said in saying that we needed to recognise what we have in common, and respect