This year marks the first time that the Cutaway – the cavernous, below-ground concrete space used for large-scale events underneath the Barangaroo headland – has been used as a venue for the Biennale. It's a match made in edgy, arty, below-ground heaven, and it has all the earthy industrial chic of Cockatoo Island, without the ferry ride.
An open-air valley along the edge of the space allows outside air to flow through and any rain to thunder down beside you without disturbing the artworks or perusers. Take your time exploring works from some 25 artists and participants, and relax with a drink and a snack in the pop-up bar with refreshments provided by P&V, Mary’s and Campari.
A huge site-specific and immersive bamboo installation weaves its way throughout the architecture of the Cutaway and the other artworks contained there. Spanning 600m2 and inspired by the flow of a river, Flow is the largest project ever undertaken by Sydney-based multidisciplinary studio Cave Urban, and one of the largest bamboo structures ever produced in Australia.
Kick off your shoes and curl up on the rug to soak up Pink Steam, a film and sound installation by Blue Mountains duo David Haines and Joyce Hinterding. Filmed on the Fish River in Wiradjuri country, specially modified radioactive cameras reveal parts of the spectrum that transmit beyond visible light.
Mexican artist Tania Candiani presents a hovering sculptural sound installation. The sculpture appears as branches, symbolising waterway patterns, with pre-Hispanic wind instruments and tiny speakers emitting sounds of Australian migratory birds.
English artistic duo Ackroyd & Harvey present two large portraits of Indigenous enviro activists Lille Madden and Uncle Charles “Chicka” Madden. Using a delicate process that combines photosynthesis and photography, these portraits are actually made of grass. Their accompanying pieces hang at the entrance of the Art Gallery of NSW.
Melbourne-based artist Jessie French will be revisiting the Cutaway throughout the duration of the Biennale to participate in her artwork-meets-working-laboratory, where she is developing sustainable algae-based bioplastics. Her practice invites others to engage with the possibilities of a post-petrochemical world.
For un-squeamish adult audiences only, Hong Kong-based artist Zheng Bo has created a work that combines the tactile with film, and art and nature with porn. An ecosexual work connecting queer plants and queer people, Bo’s installation combines scientific films of bees and wasps attempting to mate with tongue orchids in the work Pseudocopulation and the artist’s ongoing series Pteridophilia, portraying intimate encounters between young men and ferns in a forest in Taiwan.
The Biennale of Sydney is showing at the Cutaway at Barangaroo daily from 10am to 5pm, with extended hours until 9pm on Wednesdays. The exhibition is free to visit. To beat the queues, you can register here.
