TRY TO KEEP YOUR HEAD
A CONFRONTING COLLECTION OF OVERSIZED SKULLS IS JUST ONE OF THE STUNNING EXHIBITIONS THAT MAKE UP TRIENNIAL AT THE NGV IN MELBOURNE
It’s rather daunting to be confronted with a cluster of enormous skulls. Giant things, white as death, their gaping eye sockets as provoking as the gruesomely grinning bones of their teeth.
The 100 resin-cast skulls, each one 1.5m by 2m, combine to show a large-scale sculpture entitled Mass. It is just one astonishing exhibition on show at the Triennial at Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria.
The skulls were created by London-based Australian sculptor Ron Mueck and commissioned by the NGV. It is his largest work to date over a career that has created figurative sculptures that have stunned audiences globally.
This statement from Ron Mueck’s website certainly explains our feelings as we stood stock-still taking in the challenging vision of the enormous skulls:
“As viewers we experience a level of unease that is borne of a voyeuristic awkwardness, as though we have invaded some kind of personal space. However, we also identify with the human condition these poignant moments express.”
Mueck’s work is renowned and easily identifiable in the global contemporary art scene, but this exhibit is particularly arresting, a highlight among so many remarkable works on display over the four levels of the NGV.
The gallery, in St Kilda Rd, a pleasant five-minute walk over the bridge from Flinders St Station, is light-filled, spacious and super friendly. Even the outside of the building with its immense flat walls and water features shrieks contemporary intrigue as you approach. It is the most visited gallery in the country and hosts a thrilling range of local and international artists showcasing everything from modern art to historic exhibitions, from fashion to design.
Triennial, running until April 15, is a celebration of contemporary art and design showcasing exhibitions featuring technology, animation, architecture, film, painting and drawing. More than 100 artists and designers from 32 countries are displaying their works.
A day will slip by quickly as you trawl the four floors of exhibits. It’s best to plan a Melbourne visit of a few days so you can return to Triennial another day, take more in.
After you’ve stopped on the ground floor to absorb the showstopping monumental scale of the installation by Xu Zhen – a giant metre-long lounging Buddha draped with Greco-Roman, Renaissance and Neoclassical sculptures – head straight to the top floor and make your way down slowly.
There is much to see. And much of it requires your quiet contemplation and reading of the information boards. Some of the exhibits you may not comprehend, some you may (dare we say?) want to hurry past, as we did in the European room where portraits of long-deceased aristocrats were rather gloomy. But if you are into that, then it is a goldmine of art.
Other exhibits will leap out at you for their stunning visual effect, especially the elaborate couture constructions by Guo Pei which contemplate the traditions of China in this modern time. (Guo Pei designed the bright yellow gown that singer Rihanna wore to the Met Ball where she caused a sensation.)
The Triennial is no doubt a chart-buster. If you can arrange beforehand to take a guided tour you will get so much more out of it. There are special programs for children which will delight, entertain and inform them.
Even without a guide Triennial is easy to traverse, very user-friendly. While security people are not happy if you use a flash, you are welcome to take as many photos as you like, including selfies. (It seemed everyone but us took selfies among the skulls.)
There are welcoming cafes for much-needed sustenance and pit-stops, so plan to be at the gallery for a long day (or two or three). And enjoy everything else Melbourne offers in between.
Admission to the Triennial exhibition is free. More information can be found at ngv.vic.gov.au
Read Ann’s musings at annrickard.com