INTERSTELLAR: Fondation Opale, Switzerland
Michael Cook
18 Jun - 12 Nov 2023
Realised in collaboration with artgenève, INTERSTELLAR invites us to explore the unknown and to push the limits of our imagination. Bringing together some sixty artworks by contemporary Aboriginal and international artists (installations, paintings, sculptures, photographs, and videos), this exhibition offers a perspective on our relationship with the universe and leads us to question the meaning of our place within it.
In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, everything on Earth is reflected in the sky. Many of the Dreaming stories, such as the Seven Sisters, tell of this connection.
Responding to the Aboriginal artworks from the Collection Bérengère Primat, artgenève curatorial team opens, with a slight counterpoint effect, sometimes optimistic, sometimes disillusioned, sometimes funny, whimsical and often poetic trails. INTERSTELLAR thus testifies to the capacity of contemporary art to transport us to a universe with a complex surface, where dimensions are turned upside down.
With:
Alicja Kwade | Bardayal « Lofty » Nadjamerrek | Beryl Jimmy | Blair Thurman | Bobby West Tjupurrula | Carla Accardi | Casseyanne Woods | Cerith Wyn | Evans | Djerrkŋu (Eunice) Yunupiŋu | Elaine Woods | Gail Mabo | Giovanna Belossi | Ganbilpil White Ganyidjinu | Hector Jandany | Hugo Capron | Imitjala Pollard | Iwantja Young Women’s Film Project | Janice Woods | Jarinyanu David Downs | Jean-Marc Bustamante | Jim Lambie | Jorge Méndez Blake | Kani Patricia Tunkin | Karen Kilimnik | Kaye Baker | Keith Stevens | Leandro Erlich | Lucio Fontana | Marita Baker | Michael Cook | Michael Mueller | Michael Nelson Jagamara | Mulkun Wirrpanda | Naminapu Maymuru White | Nandabitta Maminyamandja | Narputta Jugadai Nangala | Not Vital | Nyunmiti Burton | Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford Jawalyi | Pepai Jangala Carroll | Philippe Decrauzat | Rafael Lozano-Hemmer | Raymond Pettibon | Ronnie Tjampitjinpa | Taylor Cooper Wanyima | Teresa Baker | Thomas Hug | Tiger Yaltangki | Tobias Putrih | Todd Bienvenu | Tony Albert | Trevor Nickolls | Sam Falls | Sammy Tunkin | Sophia Tunkin | Stefan Tcherepnin | Venita Woods | Vera Luther | Walala Tjapaltjarri | Wipana Jimmy | Witjiti George | Wolfgang Tillmans | Yarisal & Kublitz
Artist Talk with Michael Cook
Fondation Opale
20/07/23
Born from an Australian Indigenous father, Michael Cook grew up adopted in a Western household. The artist’s approach deals with topics such as postcolonial identity, dispossession and displacement, often by reversing perspectives between colonisers and colonised, and by merging history with the imaginary.
At Fondation Opale, he will talk about his series Fake, shown in the exhibition INTERSTELLAR. Shot in remote locations across the central Australian desert, the series follow an Indigenous couple and their adopted child on a road-trip through the outback. As we follow the story, the family who are decked out with luxury clothing and goods, gradually become more immersed in the ancient landscape. The final image captures a celebration in the open landscape, where designer clothes and luxuries are discarded.