BIENNALE OF SYDNEY 2020 brings together 700 works around themes of healing and transformation

digital exhibition tour: the BIENNALE OF SYDNEY – the third oldest biennial in the world after venice and são paulo and largest exhibition of its kind in australia – has launched its 22nd edition, taking place from march 14 – june 8, 2020. titled NIRIN, the 2020 edition presents a diverse range of contemporary artworks spanning from video and photography to installations and performances, across six different venues in sydney: art gallery of new south wales, artspace, campbelltown arts centre, cockatoo island, museum of contemporary art australia and the national art school.

ibrahim mahama, no friend but the mountains 2012-2020, 2020,
charcoal jute sacks, sacks, metal tags and scrap metal tarpaulin / dimensions variable
installation view (2020) for the 22nd biennale of sydney, cockatoo island
photo by zan wimberley, courtesy the artist; white cube; and apalazzo gallery, brescia

under the artistic direction of acclaimed indigenous australian artist brook andrew, the BIENNALE OF SYDNEY 2020 brings together 700 works by 101 international artists and collectives – including 39 australian artists – many of which have been specifically commissioned for the occasion. NIRIN, or edge — a word of andrew’s mother’s nation, the wiradjuri people of western new south wales — the exhibition pushes audiences the see beyond what they know, to challenge history, to be a part of the story and to immerse themselves in inspiration and imagined futures.

ibrahim mahama, a grain of wheat, 2015-18 / mixed media
installation view (2020) for the 22nd biennale of sydney, artspace
photo by zan wimberley, courtesy the artist and white cube, london / hong kong

highlights include: pitjantjatjara artist, activist and leader kunmanara mumu mike williams’ (1952–2019) large-scale political protest piece created with the young men in his community, his widow tuppy ngintja goodwin and his lifelong friend and collaborator sammy dodd following his passing last year; tennant creek brio’s dynamic series of paintings on discarded western objects that draw inspiration from their experiences at home in the northern territory; gamilaroi/gomeroi murri yinah photographer barbara mcgrady’s presentation of her life’s work as a kaleidoscopic compendium of contemporary aboriginal history; ibrahim mahama’s epic installation of sewn coal sacks in the turbine hall on cockatoo island; visual activist and photographer zanele muholi’s presentation of three bodies of work that look at the politics of race, gender and sexuality; and, hannah catherine jones’s audio-visual work using pop-cultural and archival material, poetic motifs and provocative imagery to tell a story of the african diaspora. 

anna boghiguian, the uprooted, 2020 / mixed media installation / dimensions variable
installation view (2020) for the 22nd biennale of sydney, cockatoo island
photo by zan wimberley, courtesy the artist

the public program – NIRIN WIR, meaning ‘edge of the sky’ – includes over 600 events, with the vast majority free and open to all. this extensive program of live and site-specific artist activations proposes new ways for audiences to experience contemporary art, share time and learn from one other.  

manuel ocampo
installation view (2020) for the 22nd biennale of sydney, cockatoo island
photo by zan wimberley, courtesy the artist and station, australia

highlights of the program include NIRIN HAIVETA — a restored ferry featuring traditional tattoo markings celebrating and honouring women of the pacific islands that will transport students free of charge from circular quay to cockatoo island every weekday and will hop between sydney olympic park wharf and cockatoo island on saturdays; the to cook cook or not? debate featuring performances by thelma plum and ripple effect at sydney town hall; stories we never tell, a performative walking tour at the parramatta female factory precinct; 4esydney hiphop festival and bankstown poetry slam on cockatoo island, and related artist talks, tours and workshops for young people and families every weekend and during school holidays.

jose dávila, the act of perseverance / site specific mixed media
installation with found materials from cockatoo island / dimensions variable
installation progress view (2020) for the 22nd biennale of sydney, cockatoo island
photo by zan wimberley, courtesy the artist and könig gallery

fátima rodrigo gonzales, sabado gigante (gigantic saturday), 2020
MDF, steel, acrylic sheet, enamel paint, LED
installation view (2020) for the 22nd biennale of sydney, artspace
photo by zan wimberley, courtesy the artist and 80m2 livia benavides gallery, lima

teresa margolles, untitled, 2020 / mixed-media installation
installation view (2020) for the 22nd biennale of sydney, national art school
photo by zan wimberley, courtesy the artist and galerie peter kilchmann, zurich

installation view (2020) photographed in the grand courts at the art gallery of new south wales, sydney
photo by zan wimberley

barabara mcgrady
installation view (2020) for the 22nd biennale of sydney, campbelltown arts centre
photo by zan wimberley, courtesy the artist

NIRIN HAIVETA
photo by zan wimberley

tony albert, healing land, remembering country, 2020
greenhouse nursery, hand woven baskets, native plants
installation view (2020) for the 22nd biennale of sydney, cockatoo island
photo by zan wimberley, courtesy the artist and sullivan+strumpf, sydney

exhibition information: 

BIENNALE OF SYDNEY 2020
title: NIRIN
dates: march 14 – june 8, 2020

edited by nina azzarello

we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more digital exhibition tours here, and project submissions from designboom readers here.