The Eighth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Rosanna Raymond highlights the continuing importance of barkcloth within Pacific cultures in her project that asks children to create their own tiputa. The body is wrapped in this poncho-like garment, which is made for ceremony from the mulberry tree’s soft bark and is a form of cultural wealth originally created in Tahiti. The form was later adopted by missionaries and introduced to other Pacific cultures to cover the body. Children can learn about the history and significance of barkcloth and the patterns that embellish them, before making their own tiputa in a frottage activity using templates and carved patterned surfaces. Drawing is an important way in which stories and information can be shared. For APT8 Kids, Marcel Meltherorong introduces children to the significance of sand drawing in Vanuatu. Children will complete a design linked to the importance of the yam called Na Ghimbo (which can mean, ‘I am at the yam garden’), from the artist’s homeland of Vao, an island on the north-east of Malekula. In this region, the yam is a symbol of the cycle of life. Children also learn about the belief system and symbolism in Gond art from India in Venkat Raman Singh Shyam’s project The Woman and the Parrot . This traditional story is illustrated using templates that children can adorn with Gond art’s distinctive patterns. Drawing projects presented as part of past Kids’ APT programs have captured the everyday lives and thoughts of children from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar and North Korea (DPRK). For APT8 Kids, a series of drawings about family made by children in Myanmar, created during workshops facilitated by artist Nge Lay, will be on display, providing young visitors with an insight into the experiences of the children who made them. Ideas, stories and information are communicated in many different ways, through drawing, the written word, spoken language or song. Lawrence English is interested in sounds that sit on the edge of human perception and he encourages children to engage in the sensation of listening in his Everyday Whispers project for APT8 Kids. Children are invited to record a wish that feeds into an aural chamber and is then played as whispers, creating a choir of indistinct voices. UuDam Tran Nguyen also encourages children to contemplate the impact of collective actions in Draw 2 Connect with License 2 Draw , his multimedia project for APT8 Kids. Participants control digital cars that draw coloured lines as they move across a large virtual canvas. The cars are responsive to interactions with other participants and create a cumulative and collaborative drawing. An online version will enable visitors to log on and engage with the work remotely, promoting opportunities for participants to connect with others near and far. The transformation of everyday objects has emerged as another key theme in APT8, and Choi Jeong Hwa’s artworks highlight the beauty of cheap plastic objects when displayed. For APT8 Kids as part of The Mandala of Flowers , children are able to create colourful mandala-like shapes using an array of lids and bottle tops underneath the canopy of his artwork Cosmos 2015. Artist duo Yelena Vorobyeva and Viktor Vorobyev present a playful early work I Prefer Watermelons 2002, in which they transform green tomatoes into watermelons using black paint. Children can be inspired by this work to change their own fruit or vegetable template using their imaginations. The APT8 Kids projects, associated publication and Kids on Tour program enable children to understand how the work of contemporary artists reflects their culture, beliefs, experiences and ideas, and how artists can engage them with a multitude of voices, enriching their knowledge of the culturally diverse Asia Pacific region. VENKAT RAMAN SINGH SHYAM Sijhora, Madhya Pradesh, India b.1970 Pardhan Gond people The Woman and the Parrot 2015 Synthetic polymer paint on paper / 55.8 x 76.2cm / Commissioned for APT8 Kids with support from the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation / Image courtesy: The artist 232—233 APT8 KIDS