ABDUL ABDULLAH / THE SOCIAL

Video interview courtesy of Das Platforms

Last week we featured one of Liam Benson's new photographs, Santa_2013, in which the artwork is currently exhibiting at the Campbelltown Arts Centre, as part of The Social exhibition.

The Social examines the relationship between contemporary art practice, social engagement and popular culture through the mediums of performance, narrative, photomedia and video.

Also exhibiting in the show is Perth-based artist, Abdul Abdullah, in which the artist often explores the notions of cultural identity and ethnic boundaries within his works. In the series 'Home', Abdullah creates installations throughout different Australian environments, imposing on the natural surroundings with material items - such as a white flag with the text 'HOME', referencing the notions of colonisation.

Featuring three photographic works, each image represents the idea of a self-sustaining system, such as a home, whilst also bringing to the fore the element of dependance these entities experience from the influence of external factors.

To learn more about the series 'Home', watch the video above.

INTERREGNA / ABDUL ABDULLAH, CASEY AYRES, NATHAN BEARD

Interrega Installation Shot, image courtesy of Moana Project Space website

Last year in July 2012, Abdul Abdullah, Casey Ayers and Nathan Beard, exhibited their group show 'Artefacts From The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere' in Artereal's main gallery.

This year from January 18th - February 10th 2013, the three Perth-based artists have exhibited a new show, Interregna, at Moana Project Space, a new artist-run contemporary art gallery in Perth's CBD. Featuring new works from each artist, including painting, sculpture, installation and video, this show is the first collaboration between the trio since the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

"Interregna – a word that signifies a gap in continuity, typically designated to the interim period between shifting reigns of government.

Each artist documents the construction of personal identity as inflected by political and societal contexts. Whether exploring closeted or repressed violence, racial subtexts, or taboo sexual deviancies, each artist employs text and the corporeal form to draw masked or subconscious tensions to the surface, dealing with their chosen subjects with an almost devotional sincerity." - Moana Project Space

To learn more about Interregna, click here.

To watch a video of the artists discussing their works, click here.

THE GREATER ASIA CO-PROSPERITY SPHERE VIDEO INTERVIEW

A huge thanks to our new video intern Lachlan Nicholls who has worked tirelessly to create this great video documenting Artefacts From The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The exhibition is currently showing at Artereal Gallery and features work by Abdul Abdullah, Casey Ayres and Nathan Beard.

Catch Artefacts From The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere at Artereal Gallery until 28 July 2012.

ARTEFACTS FROM THE GREATER ASIA CO-PROSPERITY SPHERE

Artefacts from The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere opens tonight, Wednesday July 4th, from 6-8pm at Artereal Gallery.

The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is a collaboration between Perth-based artists Abdul Abdullah, Casey Ayres and Nathan Beard. In response to their Asian-Australian heritages, the artists recently created an embassy for a fictional pan-Asian empire. Part of Melbourne's Next Wave Festival, and located at the NGV Studio, this Oriental embassy was the setting for a cultural program of live events, where various Eastern and Western influences were brought together and confused. As ambassadors for this faux-embassy, the artists investigated how multiculturalism operates in contemporary Australian society with humour, and personal reflections on how the work mirrors their own hybrid cultural experiences as Asian-Australians.

Artefacts from The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere will be showing at Artereal Gallery from 4-28 July 2012. 

THE GREATER ASIA CO-PROSPERITY SPHERE ON ABC TV

The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is a collaboration between Perth-based artists Abdul Abdullah, Casey Ayres and Nathan Beard. In response to their Asian-Australian heritages, the artists recently created an embassy for a fictional pan-Asian empire. Part of Melbourne's Next Wave Festival, and located at the NGV Studio, this Oriental embassy was the setting for a cultural program of live events, where various Eastern and Western influences were brought together and confused. As ambassadors for this faux-embassy, the artists investigated how multiculturalism operates in contemporary Australian society with humour, and personal reflections on how the work mirrors their own hybrid cultural experiences as Asian-Australians.

Following on from this experience, The Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere will be showing at Artereal Gallery from 4-28 July 2012.