Tarrawarra Biennial 2018: From Will to Form

Renowned Australian artist Mike Parr will launch the TarraWarra Biennial 2018: From Will to Form with his new performative work Whistle White, 2018, which will see young artists work together to whistle continuously for three days in an endless, cycling rhythm of breath.

Opening on 3 August, the 6th TarraWarra Biennial explores the ways human will can be expressed in physical form, from thrown liquid bronze sculptures to a 40m-long wall painting which will be blown and rubbed onto the wall's surface.

Stemming from the idea that art is -not a matter of reproducing or inventing forms, but of capturing forces', the exhibition considers how the wild, intangible forces that animate behaviour might be present within an artwork. For some, -will' is drawn from a relationship to country and earth, while for others it is located in the depths of the psyche. Other artists highlight the role of the body as both a conduit or concealer of willful forces.

Guest Curator, Emily Cormack, says the exhibition tracks forces as they flow into form, and back again.

-Will is our most important faculty. Without its deliberate action and force our progress falters, becomes inert, and unproductive. It is in us and of us. It is at the heart of all things. To give will form is to scoop, swallow, pour or splash it into shape,' Ms Cormack says.

Featuring 23 artists and one artist group from across Australia, the Biennial will present a range of sculpture, painting, performance and film works.

Bidjara, Ghungalu and Garingbal artist Dale Harding will present Wall compositions from memory, 2018, a vast 40-metre wall drawing on TarraWarra's -vista wall'. Mixing red Ghangalu earth from his grandmother's Bidjara country in the Carnarvon Gorge with his breath and saliva, a vast affective field of colour will be created into which the undulations of the Carnarvon Gorge will be carved.

Claire Lambe will explore the concept of -psychic overflow' in a diorama of objects – images of women peering behind doors, a bronze hair washing basin, a two way mirror – hovering before a large tapestry depicting Francis Bacon's London studio; while Lindy Lee's bronze objects are created by throwing liquid bronze onto the ground after periods of meditation.

Isadora Vaughan will make a site-specific sculpture comprised of molten glass, uranium glass, and grit from the surrounding environment that seemingly pierces the Museum's expansive North window, spilling out onto the ledge beyond.

The artists from Erub Arts in the Torres Strait will exhibit their earthen structures for the first time in a national exhibition of this kind. Their large fishing trap sculptures draw on the ancient stone fishing traps that have encircled their island since long before anyone can remember.

Starlie Geikie will present a new piece Abri, 2018, a large, hand-dyed and stitched wearable sculpture that acts as a personal architecture, serving to both contain and restrict the body; while Kusum Normoyle channels the raw energies of the Norwegian fjords in her new video work Magnesite Norway, 2016-18. In collaboration with Norwegian free jazz saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, the duo translate this sublime environment into a musical score of voice and saxophone, improvising and resonating with nature's forces.

Ms Cormack continued, -Set against a socio-political context of conservatism and restraint, where our will is constrained and our behaviour is increasingly legislated, this exhibition is a place for overflow. In this exhibition the active forces that compel activity are celebrated, with their anarchic, persistent and productive presence highlighted through sculpture, painting, installation and a diverse range of performative installations.'

Victoria Lynn, Director, TarraWarra Museum of Art, said, -We are very pleased to have this year's TarraWarra Biennial, entitled From Will to Form guest curated by Emily Cormack.  The exhibition includes works that are wilfully overflowing with humanity, resonating with forces that are bodily, aberrant, abject and creative.'

Established in 2006 as a platform for identifying new contemporary and cutting-edge work, the TarraWarra Biennial has become a major forum for artistic expression in Australia.

TARRAWARRA BIENNIAL 2018: FROM WILL TO FORM ARTISTS

Belle Bassin (VIC); Vicki Couzens (VIC); Naomi Eller (VIC); artists from Erub Arts (Torres Strait); Starlie Geikie (VIC); Agatha Gothe-Snape (NSW); Julie Gough (TAS); Dale Harding (QLD); Claire Lambe (VIC); Lindy Lee (NSW); Bridie Lunney (VIC); Rob McLeish (VIC); John Meade (VIC); Sanné Mestrom (VIC); Alison Murray (QLD); Michelle Nikou (SA); Kusum Normoyle (NSW); Mike Parr (NSW); Michael Snape (NSW); Hiromi Tango (NSW); Fairy Turner (WA); Michelle Ussher (NSW); Justine Varga (NSW); Isadora Vaughan (VIC).

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Opening Weekend : Saturday 4 – Sunday 5 August

Experience Mike Parr's durational whistling performance Whistle White 2018, as well as performances by Bridie Lunney and Belle Bassin and pop-up artist talks, over the opening weekend of the TarraWarra Biennial 2018. Free with exhibition entry.

Will To Form: Activated : Saturday 20 October

As part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival, a day of mind-bending performances and exhibition activations with artists Kusum Normoyle, Belle Bassin and Bridie Lunney. Tickets $20/$15 (concession) including exhibition entry and return bus from Federation Square. Bookings essential, tickets on sale from 25 July 2018 via www.festival.melbourne