By JESSE GRAHAM
TARRAWARRA Museum of Art’s Biennial exhibition has opened, with a swathe of thought-provoking, interesting and entertaining artworks on display.
The biennial was officially opened on Friday 15 August, and was opened to the public on Saturday 16 August, with a number of performances and talks by artists in the landmark exhibition.
The idea of masking is at the forefront of the biennial, which is appropriately titled Whisper in My Mask, and paintings, portraits and films are just some of the different artworks on display.
Over 20 artists were hand-picked for the biennial by curators Natalie King and Djon Mundine, with indigenous and non-indigenous artists contributing works exploring the idea of the mask.
Photographer, Polixeni Papapetrou, spoke on the Saturday about her works, which are portraits of clowns, devoid of make-up and with twisted expressions.
She said the works explored the idea of the clown, which has undergone transformation in recent years from the image of the entertainer, to a metaphor for depression, to an eerie and creepy figure.
“We don’t really know what a clown represents anymore – our construction of the clown changes from time to time,” she said.
Ms Papapetrou said that she thought the works would be her last as an artist, after being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and an inoperable bowel obstruction in 2012.
She said the work explored the idea of death, and that her daughter, Olympia, was coming to terms with the concept as she modelled for the photographs.
Meanwhile, artist Fiona Foley’s work, Black Velvet, tackled the masking of history, and spoke on the day about brutality often inflicted to Indigenous Australians following European settlement.
She said the name of the work – which features large block letters on the museum floor – was a euphemism used by some settlers to describe Indigenous women’s genitals.
Ms Foley said there was a hidden history of abuse and unfair treatment to the Indigenous community, and urged visitors to inform themselves on information recently coming to light about that treatment.
“Australian society needs to acknowledge this history,” she said.
“If you don’t know your history, you don’t know much.”
On the other side of the gallery lies a wall of portraits of people with dough over their heads, which was a project undertaken by artist Soren Dahlgaard.
Mr Dahlgaard travelled to 15 countries taking the dough portraits, and had a day of photographs earlier in the year at TWMA – a number of these portraits are displayed on the walls.
And for those looking for something hands-on, an installation by Elizabeth Pedler features a room full of styrofoam beans and fans, creating a snowstorm inside the gallery.
A number of other exhibitions and artists feature in the biennial.
For more information, visit TarraWarra Museum of Art at 311 Healesville-Yarra Glen Road, Healesville call 5957 3100 or visit www.twma.com.au.
