The Fourth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

AN INTRODUCTION Dadang Christanto Indonesia b.1957 Api di bu/an Mei 1998 (Fire in May 1998) 1998-99 Performance, 10 September 1999 The Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery Photograph: Andrea Higgins The Pasifika Divas call on histories of transgression in South Pacific cultures to synthesise their own performances, elaborating on the formal framework of the fale aitu (Samoan comedy), and the existence of the fa 'afafine (literally translated as 'like a woman'). The Divas propel cross-dressing, transsexuality and transgenderism into unpredictable territory, using body adornments as decoration and armour to develop a language of action, expression and embellishment. The Pasifika Divas exploit popular platforms such as nightclub circuits, dance parties and fashion parades as viable alternative spaces. Through humour and satire they experiment with and maintain critical performing practices relevant to the contemporary social experiences of 'Islanders'. Indonesian artist Heri Dono utilises an eclectic and eccentric array of objects and formats, albeit carefully sorted and animated. As part of the firstTriennial in 1993 the artist produced The chair, a provocative performance piece that playfully challenged the 'seat' of power, and incorporated elements of traditional wayang theatre with contemporary sound and movement. During the third Triennial in 1999 Dono collaborated with Australian new music ensemble Elision to create a site-specific work, Transmisi, which took place in a disused powerhouse. In this performance Dono engaged once again with notions of authority and counteraction. Tiny tin boats, each powered by a single candle, paddled through waterlogged trenches. The gently circling vessels formed a discreet vibrating mass beneath a cast of puppets that shed huge shadows within the vast industrial space. Lee Wen Singapore b.1957 Journey of a yellow man no. 13: Fragmented bodies/shifting ground 1999 Performance, September 1999 The Third Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery Photograph: Andrea Higgins At the other end of this spectrum are the more ascetic performances of artists such as Song Dong and Joan Grounds. In her early works Grounds used the inanimate as a starting point, overlaying objects with actions that raise ideas about continuum and transaction. The burnt skeletal remains of tall papier-mache sculptures, the residues of her 1960s performances, can now be observed only in her documentary films. Song Dong is a member of a community of avant-garde artists who have established performance as a practice of exceptional significance within contemporary Chinese art. In Writing diary with water 1995-present, the daily gesture of writing diary entries with water on stone becomes ritualised into a meditation on ephemerality. The calligraphic brushstrokes recount the day's thoughts and activities, ranging from the banal to the scurrilous; and once made, they evaporate and vanish. In Stamping the water 1996 the repeated stamping of a traditional wooden seal in a river in Lhasa, Tibet combines an object redolent of imperial power and authority with a gesture that underscores the radical loss of that power. 13