The Sixth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

238 and local fibres. The mague sculptures play a central role within the contemporary articulation of kastom in North Ambrym. Ambrymese society is structured around chiefs who rise through a series of grades. Each rise in rank is marked by a ceremony and the creation of a sculpture. Each work is unique, based on the chief’s social position at the time. The slit drums are used in the ceremonies, and the temar sculptures are created as memorials to ancestor spirits. Together, these works represent the strength, dynamism and vital nature of Ambrymese culture. Rohan Wealleans b.1977 Invercargill, New Zealand Lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand Rohan Wealleans’s practice is a unique fusion of painting and sculpture. Bulbous forms are crafted through a laborious process, whereby sculptures are coated with up to 300 layers of house paint. Once completed, patches of these slick surfaces are excised with a knife to reveal a richly coloured underbelly. In 2000, Wealleans graduated from the Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting), and was awarded a Master of Arts (Painting) in 2003. Exhibitions (solo): Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland, 2009; Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, 2008; Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington, 2006; Dunedin Public Art Gallery, New Zealand, 2006. Exhibitions (group): TarraWarra Biennial, Yarra Valley, Australia, 2008; ‘Just Painting’, Auckland Art Gallery, 2006; 26th São Paulo Biennial, Brazil, 2004. Robin White, Leba Toki and Bale Jione Robin White b.1946 Te Puke, New Zealand Lives and works in Masterton, New Zealand Leba Toki b.1951 Moce, Fiji Lives and works in Lautoka, Fiji Bale Jione b.1952 Moce, Fiji Lives and works in Suva, Fiji Robin White is a significant New Zealand artist who has developed a comprehensive practice since the 1970s. White’s recent collaborative work with Leba Toki and Bale Jione is inspired by her experience of living for many years in Kiribati, in the central Pacific. Both Toki and Jione are from Moce in the Lau group of islands of Fiji, which is renowned for its masi (barkcloth) work. Barkcloth is a material created throughout the Pacific, incorporating unique cultural aspects of each region. Robin White : Exhibitions (solo): Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, New Zealand, 2005; Auckland Art Gallery, 2003. Exhibitions (group): ‘Painters as Printmakers’, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, New Zealand, 2007; ‘Winged Wonders’, Auckland Art Gallery, 2005; ‘Islands in the Sun’, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2001. Yang Shaobin b. 1963 Tangshan, Hebei Province, China Lives and works in Beijing, China Yang Shaobin’s paintings are known for their refined composition, rich narrative and incisive commentary on the changing social landscape of China. Yang graduated from the Polytechnic University in Hebei, China, in 1983, and moved to the artist village at Yuanmingyuan, Beijing, in 1991, settling in Beijing’s Tonxian from 1995. The personal experience of growing up in a coalmining town in rural China has informed Yang’s recent series X – Blind Spot , works in painting, sculpture, video and installation. Exhibitions (solo): Long March Space, Beijing, 2008; Alexander Ochs Gallery, Berlin, 2007. Exhibitions (group): ‘The Real Thing’, Tate Liverpool, United Kingdom, 2007; 48th Biennale of Venice, 1999. Yao Jui-chung b.1969, Taipei, Taiwan Lives and works in Taipei Yao Jui-chung’s practice explores the complex construction of Taiwanese culture, including its entanglement with Cold War ideology during the martial law period of 1949–87, the country’s embracing of capitalism, and the concurrent effects of multinationalism. Yao graduated from the National Institute of the Arts (now the Taipei National University of the Arts) with a degree in art theory in 1994. In 1997, he attended the Headland Center for the Arts in San Francisco. In addition to fine art, Yao has worked in the fields of theatre, film, photography, art history and art criticism. Exhibitions (solo): Taipei Fine Arts Museum, 2006. Exhibitions (group): ‘Spectacle: To Each His Own’, Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, 2009; Yokohama Triennale, Japan, 2005; Taiwanese Pavilion, 47th Biennale of Venice, 1997. YNG Yoshitomo Nara b.1959 Hirosaki, Japan Lives and works in Toshigi, Japan graf est.1993 Osaka, Japan Yoshitomo Nara, one of Japan’s best known contemporary artists, regularly collaborates, under the acronym YNG, with Osaka-based design firm graf to construct playful and whimsical interactive environments, extending his fascination with the experience of childhood, and how specific spaces affect one's viewing of art. Nara received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1985 and Master of Fine Arts in 1987 from the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music, Japan. Between 1988 and 1993, Nara studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany. He is internationally renowned for his ‘super-flat’ drawings, paintings and sculptures of mischievous children and animals. Strongly influenced by punk music, anime, manga and Marvel comics, Nara’s work is also inspired by his own childhood memories and experiences. His iconic, cartoon-like characters channel experiences of anxiety and fear, undercutting idealised notions of childhood innocence. While considered a cult figure in his native Japan, his works transcend national and cultural boundaries and are widely integrated into Western popular culture. graf is a creative design group established in Osaka in 1993 by Shigeki Hattori, Hiroto Aranishi, Kenji Tokyura, Hideki Toyoshima, Takashi Matsui and Yuji Nozawa. Their interdisciplinary studio practice includes architecture, interiors, fashion and furniture design, and investigates the crossovers between art and craft, and design and architecture. Their arts and cultural branch, graf media gm, runs a gallery space, a music label and a publishing house. Collaboration is intrinsic to all facets of their work, and since 2003 they have been working with Yoshitomo Nara to create a range of site-specific installations in gallery settings. Exhibitions (YNG, solo): BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom, 2008; Museum of Contemporary Art, Den Haag, the Netherlands, 2007; Contemporary Art Centre, Malaga, Spain, 2007; Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, 2005. Exhibitions (YNG, group): ‘KITA!!: Japanese Artists Meet Indonesia’, Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2008; Yokohama Triennale, Japan, 2005.