Conundrums for curators: Pacific art at APT

Abstract

Article discusses curatorial strategies informing 'The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8)', with comment on the history of Pacific artists' participation in the triennial exhibition. Artworks focused on include Rosanna Raymond's 'SaVAge K'lub', "an imaginative re-make of the nineteenth-century colonial gentlemen's institution of the Savage Club", Luke Willis Thompson's work 'Sucu Mate' (2012-) and Shigeyuki (Yuki) Kihara's work entitled, 'Siva in Motion'. The article goes on to discuss issues raised in a panel discussion convened by Raymond as part of the 12th Pacific Arts Association International Symposium in Auckland (2016), including the presence of nudity in performance works. Further discussion around artworks includes notions of Pacific identities and colonial histories.