TTS News & Almanac
No.9
29 May 1998
This newsletter is written as an update on the progress of the Turn the Soil exhibition for artists and fellow travellers. It will be produced between each venue.
The Canberra-Sydney leg
Installation
Since Morwell, Mae Adams and Sandy Saxon from NETS had carefully picked over the works and their packaging. The works has been given a change of sheets for their rest between venues and all were looking remarkably spruce given the travel and exposure.
The Canberra School of Art Gallery is the largest space that the exhibition has since occupied. With a larger space, the installation had an opportunity to use Laurie Paine’s weavings as a central key around which visitors rotated. We also put a partition with the exhibition sign on an angle near the entrance, with Sarit Cohen’s works foregrounded. The result was quite a spacious hand with many different views.
Arsim Memishi’s wardrobe was hidden behind the partition as a surprise. And Neville Assad-Salha’s ceramics returned to the spot that his work had occupied in a previous exhibition Symmetry: with the natural light of the court windows.
In an art school context, the exhibition attracted much attention with many trying to catch a glimpse of the show through the papered windows before opening.
Opening
The opening attracted quite a crowd for the gallery. This is probably a result of several factors. Al Grasby, a local celebrity, was opening the exhibition. As you might expect, he had a great deal to say. In fact, he remarked that this year represented the 25th anniversary of multiculturalism. He claimed that Turn the Soil was the only event related to that theme that he had been involved with this year (hard to believe). In reference to a remark about the Irish in the catalogue, Mr (or rather Dr) Grasby sported a colourful green tie and decried Henry Parkes’ ambition to rid Australia of the twin evils of Chinese and Irish.
In introducing Al Grasby, head of the art school David Williams remarked on the large representation of graduates in the exhibition. Indeed, as well as the three local artists, there was Laurie Paine and Liz Fotiadis who had trained there. It seemed a great point of local pride to have such a strong representation in a national exhibition.
Also in attendance was the Danish Ambassador, who was the guest of Helge Larsen and Darani Lewers, themselves artists in residence at the school. Naturally, he expressed great interest in the Sydney opening.
After the opening, the curator, artists and a local crowd went out to a city restaurant for a celebratory meal. The show had been through some lonely openings, with none of the artists present. It was terrific to have three there. With any luck, this might be increased for the Sydney opening.
Conference
The highlight of the Canberra leg was definitely the Making New Ground conference, convened by Anne Brennan from the art theory workshop. The conference offered much food for thought as well as new insights into Australian culture. Paul Carter gave a complex paper on the migrant experience in Australia. He was followed by Jim Logan from the NGA and artist Vivienne Binns. After lunch the curator spoke about the workshops and this was followed by the panel of three local artists.
The consensus of the weekend seemed to be that this panel was the highlight of the conference. Suzy Timar told a very interesting story about travelling to Hungary and encountering their strangely familiar customs. Hanh Ngô gave a circumspect account of the Vietnamese culture that she works from, concluding with a charming recitation of Vietnamese poetry. And Sarit Cohen explained what it was like to return to Israel and how she distinguished herself now from the country of her birth. The discussion was lively and it was particularly refreshing to have these issues represented with personal experience.
The Sunday was a remarkable day with a series of fascinating perspectives on Australia from different migrant communities. Ghassan Hage from Sydney explained why the local Lebanese communities wish Australia had been colonised by the French. Elena Govor followed the path of a utopian Russian colony in the Atherton tableland to it Aboriginal descendants in Townsville. And Peter Read with Marivic Wyndham compared the traditions of Cuban and Australian bushmen in popular song (with practical demonstrations). This was summed up by a very eloquent Greg Denning and followed by intense discussion about the assumptions behind Turn the Soil.
Off the Beaten Track
One disappointment with the Canberra leg was the poor turnout to the workshop (one person!). This was partly due to bad timing and also a sombre mood resulting from the recent loss of a staff member. To counter this, a questionnaire was sent out to conference participants and through the Internet to gather responses to the question of what Australia might have been like if no one had colonised it. There have already been many responses, which you can find if you go to the Canberra part of the site "http://www.kitezh.com/soil/cn". Please have a go yourself, or encourage others to submit their thoughts.
Sydney and the Vikings!
The Sydney opening will be a grand affair with several exhibitions combining to launch the Centre for Contemporary Craft’s new space in Customs House.
Irish joke
Inspired by Al Grasby’s defence of the Irish, this new scientific discovery is presented as vindication of the advanced state of their society. Please excuse on grounds of both multiculturalism and soil turning:
German scientists dug 50 metres underground and discovered small pieces of copper. After studying these pieces for a long time, Germany announced that the ancient Germans 25,000 years ago had a nationwide telephone network.
Naturally, the British government was not that easily impressed. They ordered their own scientists to dig even deeper. 100 metres down, they found small pieces of glass and they soon announced that the ancient Brits 35,000 years ago already had a nationwide fibre net.
Irish scientists were outraged. They dug 200 metres underground, but found absolutely nothing. They concluded that the ancient Irish 55,000 years ago had cellular telephones.