Media Release
April 16 2007
Dreaming of a Trojan Horse
It’s
not everyday that there is excitement about an art exhibition closing –
but The
Dream Republic is not an everyday exhibition.
Until April 27, visitors will be able to watch, and even participate in, the construction of a giant Trojan Horse in this open studio exhibition at UniSA’s South Australian School of Art (SASA) Gallery.
The Dream Republic, which includes artwork that deals with repression of free speech and art terrorism, is part of the seven-week residency of internationally-renowned Indonesian artist Heri Dono being hosted by SASA with the generous support of the Helpmann Academy.
Using installation, painting, puppetry and performance, Yogyakarta-based Dono engages with contemporary issues and Indonesian mythology to explore the position of the individual within society.
Dono says that with this current project he aims to demonstrate that whereas the legendary Trojan Horse may have “been used for purposes of evil, it can also be used for purposes of good”.
“The Trojan Horse is symbolic of the previous times in history in which acts of war have taken place from inside the line of defence of a country,” Dono says. “Similar strategies to the way in which it was used by the Greeks to invade Troy have reoccurred in history – the Spanish civil war in Spain in the 1930s, and the attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001.”
The Horse will be completed on April 26 and then destroyed the following day. It is the only time this project will be undertaken. Artists and students from three Helpmann Academy partner schools are working with Dono on the project.
The Dream Republic
Heri Dono
curated by Dr Pamela Zeplin
Tuesday – Friday, 11am – 5pm
April 3 to 27
South Australian School of Art Gallery
Cnr Fenn Place and Hindley St, Adelaide
UniSA City West campus
Contact for interview
-
Dr Pamela Zeplin office (08) 8302 0329 email pam.zeplin@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
-
Vincent Ciccarello office (08) 8302 0578 mobile 0434 603 457
email vincent.ciccarello@unisa.edu.au