The Art Gallery of South Australia has announced the theme and participating artists for the 2016 Adelaide Biennial of Australia Art. Titled “Magic Object,” the 2016 Biennial draws inspiration from the Wunderkammer and will establish a world of wonder and enchantment, but also caution and critique, fuelled by the artists’ interests in the talismanic, cultural rituals, and material riddles.
Presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia, the ambitious event will unfold across an unprecedented number of venues in Adelaide, including the Art Gallery of South Australia, Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art at UniSA, JamFactory, Carrick Hill, and the Santos Museum of Economic Botany in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens
“Spread across these sites, I’ve invited artists to consider magic and object-hood and to explore how materials speak to both artists and audiences.” said Curator Lisa Slade, Assistant Director, Artistic Programs at the Art Gallery. “Much of the work presented in Magic Object looks like one thing, but is really another. It possesses a materiality akin to trickery or magic.”
2016 Adelaide Biennial of Australia Art Participating artists:
Abdul-Rahman Abdullah (WA), Glenn Barkley (NSW), Chris Bond (VIC), Pepai Carroll (SA), Tarryn Gill (WA), Louise Haselton (SA), Juz Kitson (NSW), Loongkoonan (WA), Fiona McMonagle (VIC), Danie Mellor (NSW), Clare Milledge (NSW), Tom Moore (SA), Nell (NSW), Ramesh Mario-Nithiyendran (NSW), Bluey Roberts (SA), Gareth Sansom (VIC), Robyn Stacey (NSW), Garry Stewart & Australian Dance Theatre (SA), Jacqui Stockdale (VIC), Heather B Swann (ACT), Hiromi Tango (NSW), Roy Wiggan (WA), Tiger Yaltangi (SA) and Michael Zavros (QLD).
“Magic Object” runs from 27 February to 15 May 2016 as part of the Adelaide Festival of Arts.
