THERE IS NO GLOBAL

A discussion of Australian views of contemporary art practice.

“There is no international, only different locals,” wrote the Chinese dissident poet Yang Lian in an essay introducing his first book of poems written in London. His typically poetic and philosophical statement could not have been written by a contemporary artist honest about the harsh world of the art market and the symbolic dilemmas prompted simply by wanting to be an artist in one of the world’s centres of global capitalism, let alone by being an Australian artist in what was – or maybe still is – the capital of ‘our’ empire.

With the recent collapse of the world financial markets, and keeping its on-going effects in mind, one of which is the so-called ‘rise to power’ of the Asian region of which Australia is a part, it could be that being an Australian artist in a European capital now is not a position of supplication to the powers-at-be in a European or British global art centre; rather the Australian artist now might feel that she comes from the future, from a more affluent, more modern, ‘Asian-focused’,cosmopolitan and forward-looking world. Or is this hubris?

With invited Australians Deej Fabyc, Paul Knight, Katrina Schwarz and Christian Thompson joining him in discussion, the critic John Mateer will propose that while it is true that international art remains strongly tied to networks of global capital, in which London remains one of the key centres, the shift in the past decade towards the East and the South has now given Australian artists the opportunity of effective autonomy. For the first time Australia is closely tied to the most dynamic financial and cultural centres on the globe.

The event will be chaired by Dr. Ian Henderson, The Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, Kings College London. John Mateer is the inaugural recipient of the Australia Council for the Arts
London arts writer residency, managed by Acme Studios International Residencies Programme. This event forms part of John Mateer’s residency and is made possible through collaboration with The Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, and Goodenough College.

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