PA/55/12 13 December 2012
Sleep on the Left Side:
Exhibition of works by three Australian artists to open in Delhi on 20 December
A new cultural exchange project, Sleep on the Left Side, brings the work of three leading contemporary Australian artists to India. The artists - Kate Daw, Emily Floyd and John Meade - have spent time in India and their work has been influenced by those experiences and the people they have encountered.
“The exhibition is an example of growing collaboration between Australia and India. The experiences in India of the three Australian artists are reflected in their work. Similarly, three Indian artists will travel to Australia in 2013 on residencies and have the opportunity to reflect their experiences in Australia into their art. Their artwork will be displayed at a gallery in Melbourne,” said the Acting Australian High Commissioner, Dr Lachlan Strahan.
The exhibition, which comprises painting, sculpture, text, sound and video, opens in Delhi at Seven Art, M-44/2, M Block Market, Greater Kailash II on 20 December. It will run until 19 January 2013, Monday to Saturday, 11 am to 7 pm (closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day).
Brought to India as part of Oz Fest, the biggest Australian cultural festival ever staged in India, Sleep on the Left Side is curated by Vikki McInnes, Director of the Margaret Lawrence Gallery and is presented in partnership with Seven Art.
The three Indian artists involved in the exchange, Aakash Nihalani, Brendan Fernandes and Saravanan Parasuraman, are represented by Seven Art. They will travel to Melbourne to undertake artist residencies in 2013 and will also participate in an exhibition at the University of Melbourne’s Margaret Lawrence Gallery at the Victorian College of the Arts.
Sleep on the Left Side takes its title from the Cornershop song of the same name and alludes to the dualities, dichotomies and the sense of politic that each of the artists engages in different ways and through different sets of relations and conditions: Kate Daw through everyday artefacts and narratives, Emily Floyd through social politics and John Meade through particular historical monuments. There are many literal, philosophical and metaphysical associations the title will call to mind: the political left, of course; left and right brain functions (which distinguish logic from creativity); the fact that India and Australia are two of only 25% of nations which still drive on the left side of the road. Sleeping on the left side is also said to increase happiness!
Through this project, Daw, Floyd and Meade hope to extend their own cultural and artistic understanding of the places and times each have inhabited. Sleep on the Left Side is a project that endorses reflection and contemplation as well as a desire to foster ongoing dialogue.
Supported by the Australia India Institute, Arts Victoria, Australia International Cultural Council (AICC) and the Australia-India Council, Sleep on the Left Side is brought to India as part of Oz Fest.
Oz Fest is the biggest Australian cultural festival ever staged in India. The Australian Government is working with 24 government, business, institutional and production partners to present over 100 events in 18 locations across India between October 2012 and February 2013. Oz Fest is the AICC’s focus country program for 2012.
For more information visit www.ozfestindia.com, www.facebook.com/ozfestinindia or follow us on twitter @OzFestIndia