The Seventh Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

KIDS’ APT7 ARTIST PROJECTS TE WEI China 1915–2010 Production still from Where is Mama? (detail) 1960 Image courtesy: China Film Archive TE WEI Where is Mama? 1960 , The Buffalo Boy and his Flute 1963 and Feeling of Mountains and Waters 1988 As part of APT7’s Mountains and Waters: Chinese Animation Since the 1930s cinema program, Kids’ APT7 screens three beautiful animations by Chinese artist and director Te Wei: Where is Mama? 1960, The Buffalo Boy and his Flute 1963 and Feeling of Mountains and Waters 1988. Throughout his long and esteemed career, Te Wei encouraged the development of animation, often introducing traditional painting techniques to retell popular Chinese stories and fables for children. Te Wei’s innovative ink wash animations delight viewers of all ages as they experience his clever combination of two artistic mediums, merging paint and paper with animation. Flowing pigment forms vermilion goldfish and burnt umber tadpoles, while the movements of fishtails and rippling waters poetically recall the gestures of the artist applying the brush to paper. TROMARAMA Indonesia Est. 2004 Wattt?! (still) 2010 Purchased 2011. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery TROMARAMA Wattt?! 2010 Indonesian artist collective Tromarama were inspired to make the moving-image work Wattt?! 2010 by an unexpectedly high electricity bill. To explain the exorbitant cost, the artists entertained the idea that perhaps at night the lights came to life and held parties, inviting their friends the lamps, outdoor light-bulbs, fluorescent tubes and neon to join the celebrations. Set in a home similar to a student’s share-house, the main character — an office desk lamp, supported by a cast of coloured lights — takes centrestage to present an illuminating performance cleverly and painstakingly created by the artists using stop-motion animation techniques. To enhance the viewer’s experience, the film is screened in what resembles a living room, complete with a pathway that leads young filmgoers inside, echoing the film’s narrative of the guests arriving. 276