Performances are a spontaneous response to the artwork and architecture of QAGOMA

For APT10, Fuata presents a new trilogy of ‘post-improvisation’ films

For APT10, Fuata presents a new trilogy of ‘post-improvisation’ films / View full image

Brian Fuata’s ‘The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT10) performances are a spontaneous response to the artwork and architecture of QAGOMA’s spaces and often engage with the audience.

The intimate performative work of Fuata is informed by theatre techniques and frameworks of improvisation. Fuata works across a range of sites including theatres, galleries, text messages and email. In each instance, the intent of the work is its engagement with an audience rather than the traditional representation of a pre-existing narrative.

Brian Fuata introduces performances created for APT10

Brian Fuata, Aotearoa New Zealand/Australia b.1978 / Performance documentation of filming of Errantucation (mist opportunities) 2021 / Performance improvisations filmed at QAGOMA on 23 June, 31 August and 30 September 2021: three-channel HD video, 16:9, 15 minutes, colour, sound / Commissioned for ‘The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT10). Purchased 2021 with funds from the Jennifer Taylor Bequest through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Brian Fuata

The blank sheet — often understood as a space of ambivalence and absence — is a recurring motif and allegorical symbol, manifesting in different contexts that include emails, paper, SMS, concrete, film and, in the case of his 20-minute live performances, a blank bed sheet. In these ‘ghost’ performances, Fuata re-contextualises the physical space of the gallery into a moving stage of subjectivity and persona.

For APT10, Fuata presents a new trilogy of ‘post-improvisation’ films, documenting three performances created in response to the learning directives of the ‘Open Studio’ space at the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG). These performances connect a personal history of artistic inspiration with selected works and practices encountered within the Gallery’s collections and archives and through the artist’s extended oeuvre.

Brian Fuata’s APT10 Opening weekend performance Apparitional Charlatan Minor Appearances (Accumulations 2020-2021) , an improvisation of spoken word and physical gestures using the image of the ghost.

Brian Fuata’s APT10 Opening weekend performance Apparitional Charlatan Minor Appearances (Accumulations 2020-2021) , an improvisation of spoken word and physical gestures using the image of the ghost. / View full image

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