Have you ever thought or been told that you are a work of art? Well the Glasshouse Regional Gallery is giving you the chance to participate and become part of an exhibition. The Glasshouse Regional Gallery is presenting an exhibition which features a performance piece.
Survivor, by international artist Dadang Christanto, is an exhibition which encompasses a live perform-ance, photographic and video-documentation and installation of the exhibition within the Gallery space.
Dadang is an Indonesian-Australian artist who has used his art to raise awareness of particular political or cultural issues. He is an artist who frequently creates works that could be considered cultural activism. Survivor was first staged in Indonesia in 2008, with over 700 participants taking part.
The work commemorates the ongoing trauma of the Sidoarjo or Lapindo mudslide in east Java — an environmental disaster that occurred in May 2006, following a massive earthquake and exploratory drilling by a mining company. The toxic mud buried 11 villages and displaced over 50,000 people. Many people also died. The ‘mud volcano’ is expected to leach for the next 25—30 years.
The Survivor performance will occur on Saturday, October 20 in the Hay Street Forecourt, with volunteers holding a silent vigil, caked in mud and holding portraits of the aftermath of the 2006 disaster.
“We are looking for people to help make this exhibition possible,” said Gallery Manager, Ms Sharni Lloyd. “It’s an unusual experience — I participated in Survivor at the Gosford Regional Gallery in April 2012. More than art, this is cultural activism and a powerful message. I encourage the community to participate and reflect on our ability to survive tragedy and loss, and the power of hope. Anyone can participate, no skills or artistic ability is required, just a willingness to work with the artist and give up a few hours of their time. The community is also welcome to come along and witness the performance.”
The Gallery installation will open the following week. The Gallery exhibition will evolve from the Hay Street performance — the mud, dust, photographs, footprints and trails which are created by the performance will be left in the gallery space of evidence of what has occurred.
Anyone interested in being part of this unique exhibition should contact the Glasshouse on 6581 8888 to register their interest.
