20th Biennale Of Sydney

By Ben Stephens.

In just over a month, our harbour city will find itself in the creative heart of the 20^th Biennale of Sydney. This year, the festival takes inspiration from a quote by author William Gibson ‘The future is here already – it’s just not evenly distributed’… sit on that for a while… take a breath and enjoy it. Good huh? With Mr. W Gibson acting as the creativity behind 20th Biennale Of Sydney, we are in for all sorts of creative soul nourishing things.

The festival will be split into seven embassies (areas) and since I don’t want you to miss out on the action, let’s take a moment to go over the happenings at the focal space on Cockatoo Island, The Embassy of the Real, and more attentively into the work of Bangkok born, Korakrit Arunanondchai and his contemporary pop culture work.

Cockatoo Island, located on the western side of the bridge, was originally a fishing ground for traditional owners before being used as a shipyard from 1851 to 1991. The island has a certain disused warehouse ambiance to it, think baron industrial vibes. The island will play host to 17 artists during the Biennale, with art works being produced through a myriad of mediums, from virtual reality installations to choreographed pieces.

You may have seen some of Korakrit Arunanondchai’s art already; a photo of men standing on a rooftop in Bangkok, dressed in denim, with Korakrit in the center, arms outstretched. The Biennale has been using it in the lead up to the opening. That still is from his 2015 video piece ‘painting with history in room filled with people with funny names’. If you are yet to see it, the trailer is below and it’s brilliant, it makes me feel things. Arunanondchai’s works tend to blur the lines between fantasy and reality, while drawing inspiration from his persona as an artist, which places him in our highlight basket for the 20^th Biennale.

A rad addition to Cockatoo Island is the chance to stay the night on the isle, from a holiday house, glamping to camping spot, the views that the island captures of the city scape are breathtaking. Sunrise has the ability to change your perspective from here. If you want to stay as close as you can to the action, check out all the options on the website.

The 20^th Biennale of Sydney starts on March 18 – June 5.

Image: Ming Wong, ‘Windows On The World (Part 1)’, 2014, mixed-media installation with video. Courtesy of Para Site and Spring Workshop, Hong Kong. Photograph: Glenn Eugen Ellingsen