Korakrit Arunanondchai, video still from Painting with history in room filled with people with funny names 3 (2015). Photo: Courtesy of the artist, C L E A R I N G New York-Brussels, and Carlos-Ishikawa London.
Korakrit Arunanondchai, video still from Painting with history in room filled with people with funny names 3 (2015). Photo: Courtesy of the artist, C L E A R I N G New York-Brussels, and Carlos-Ishikawa London.

Korakrit Arunanondchai, video still from Painting with history in room filled with people with funny names 3 (2015). Photo: Courtesy of the artist, C L E A R I N G New York-Brussels, and Carlos-Ishikawa London.

The 20th Biennale of Sydney has revealed details of its performance and public programs.

The first big event will take place on the Biennale’s opening night, on March 18,  when performance artist Boychild, best known for her collaborations with artist Wu Tsang, will present a live artwork set in an all-denim installation by Korakrit Arunanondchai. In the performance, Boychild will recast her body as a cyborg, accompanied by a live percussive score.

Also during opening weekend, artist Justene Williams—in collaboration with Sydney Chamber Opera—will present her take on the legendary Futurist opera Victory Over the Sun, which was first performed in Petersburg, Russia, in 1913. Adam Linder, on the other hand, will stage Some Proximity, one of his “choreographic services” for which two dancers and an arts writer have been “hired” to perform.

Mella Jaarsma, Dogwalk (2015-2016).
Photo: Mie Cornoedus. Courtesy of the artist and Arndt Fine Art.

Meanwhile, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, a month-long series titled Ghost Telephone will feature a series of interlinked performances from internationally renowned artists. Working in situ, performers will channel and transform the spirits of artworks displayed as part of the biennale.

Curated by artistic director Stephanie Rosenthal—with the help of 13 curatorial advisors—and taking place between March 18 and June 5, the Biennale of Sydney takes its title from a quote from sci-fi cult writer William Gibson, “The future is already here—It’s just not evenly distributed.”

The large-scale exhibition will take place across seven venues—or “embassies of thought”—which include Cockatoo Island, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Carriageworks, Artspace, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Mortuary Station, and a bookshop.

Curator Stephanie Rosenthal.
Courtesy: Sydney Biennial.

“If each era posits its own view of reality, what is ours? One of the key ideas this Biennale explores is how the common distinction between the virtual and the physical has become ever more elusive,” Rosenthal had said of the biennale’s theme. “A focus on ‘in-between spaces’ is key: in terms of our interaction with the digital world, the blurred boundaries between art forms and the interconnection between politics and financial power structures,” she added.

Other artist featured in the biennale include Ricardo Basbaum, Samuel Beckett, Nina Beier, Heman Chong, Camille Henrot, Jumana Manna, Helen Marten, Oscar Murillo, and Aura Satz.

20th Biennale of Sydney “The future is already here—It’s just not evenly distributed” takes places from March 18 – June 5, 2016