Rising Voices

 

Takahiro Iwasaki - Reflection Model (Perfect Bliss), 2010-12

This is a small but beautifully curated exhibition at the V&A museum, a survey showcasing the latest in art and crafts from Asia and the Pacific region produced in partnership with the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Brisbane, the show includes more than 70 works which have never before been exhibited in the UK, by artists from 25 countries split into four sections loosely based around the concepts of politics, materiality and spirituality. Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific features painting, sculpture, textiles ceramics, jewellery, basket weaving, photography and video installations to great effect in the small Porter Gallery space of the museum. Visitors approaching the exhibition do a double-take as they encounter the imposing Kapa Haka (Whero), the life-size/lifelike sculpture of a Māori security guard by artist Michael Parekōwhai. This faceless figure is a symbolic guardian of the exhibition and representative of many who do this line of work usually from ethnic minority backgrounds, faceless entities who (are usually lowly paid to) protect expensive works of art displayed in these institutions. Indeed the exhibition doesn't shy away from tackling the problems of the indigenous communities in these regions. From the get go in the first space of the exhibition there is the painting Memory Bones by Aboriginal artist Judy Watson depicting a series of white, rib-like shapes lying over a violent splash of red, symbolising the broken bones and blood of Mulrunji Doomadgee, an Aboriginal man who died in police custody in 2004. The painting represents the overincarceration of Indigenous people and the number of deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody which sadly remains a national crisis in Australia. Watson describes making the work as a “grieving process”. She says it reflects on the “colonial violence, I would call it, that’s still ongoing within Australia”. I wasn't particularly moved by many of the other paintings on display many of which also tackled the subject of colonialism. As stated, the exhibition is a mixed bag of different artistic practices. Stand outs in the exhibition are the three ceramic portrait busts by decorated with traditional painted flowers and patterns by Ah Xian from his China China series. A beautifully haunting video of what looks like ritual dance moves by Yuki Kihara entitled Siva in Motion. In the final room of the exhibition looming out of the darkness are Thai artist Montien Boonma’s installation Lotus Sound, a curved wall made from hundreds of stacked terracotta bells, and Japanese sculptor Takahiro Iwasaki’sReflection Model (Perfect Bliss), an amazingly intricate, large wooden model of the Phoenix Pavilion in Kyoto, caught in the sharp, symmetrical reflection of a lake, hanging like a prayer, installed suspended from the ceiling, floating serenely in space. Both pieces are stunning finale to the exhibition. Another series of exhibits that I admired were the tender A Warrior without a Weapon photographs by Naomi Hobson of Aboriginal men and children sporting flowers in their hair and beards which reminded me of an old post of mine about the trend of flowerbeards (here). Other personal favourites I also really enjoyed seeing included Lola Greeno’s necklaces made simply from shells and threads which were simpler but just as effective as the diamond encrusted jewellery produced in Europe on display upstairs in the V&A's renowned jewellery gallery. Shirley Macnamara’s small baskets lined with feathers were also exquisite, like little nest havens or cocoons just begging to be touched or settled in. Visitors to the show are accompanied throughout by a wistful soundtrack featuring the voice of Christian Thompson whose song Refuge,2015, is performed on video. This song is composed in Bidjara, an endangered Aboriginal language in south-west Queensland. There is no translation, but the theme of loss and connection is quite obvious. The curators have made some wonderful choices with the artworks selected given the vast geographical area (25 countries) it covers. It is a punchy, powerful show, and it is only a shame that a bigger exhibition space wasn't given over to this exhibition so that we could see more fascinating contemporary work from these regions.

Rising Voices

until 10th January 2027

Victoria & Albert Museum

Cromwell Road

South Kensington

London

SW7