Towards The Morning Sun

By Andrew Frost

Curated by Keren Ruki, Towards the Morning Sun is a large group show featuring artists of Pacific Island heritage whose work examines the effects of diaspora from a range of perspectives, from radical personal and subjective responses, to the smooth, international aesthetics of contemporary art, to the imaginative possibilities of a multi-racial future.

A number of works including those by Eric Bridgeman, Rosanna Raymond and Saloti Tawale make pointed use of racial stereotypes in their works to satirize, disempower and ultimately control those images, while artists including Brett Graham and Niki Hastings-McFall investigate the connections and continuities between Western contemporary art and traditional styles, patterns and motifs. The central gallery is dominated by Graham’s mock-tank, a confronting symbol of Western cultural hegemony, but also defused by the lilting song of Torika Bolatagici’s video of a ceremony featuring the laying-on of hands. Sprawling through Campbelltown’s galleries, the show seduces the visitor with colour, sound and movement, marked by a sense of generous inclusivity and optimism.

Until October 21

Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown