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LINKAGE / LEAKAGE
Cultural Collusion in Cairns |
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| Creating cultural bridges between artists from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region was the aim of the Linkage Leakage project. Initiated and developed by Far North Queensland based Kick Arts Collective Inc, Linkage Leakage was an exciting opportunity to explore the cultural and artistic dimensions influencing seven artists from the region of Northern Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, New Caledonia.
Visual and performance artists from these regions come together in August 1996 to present a series of residencies, forums, exhibitions and events across several sites including the Cairns Regional Gallery, the Tanks Art Centre in Cairns and the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane. Defining cultural differences through visual and performing arts was the primary outcome of the project. Linkage Leakage was a celebration of difference and a celebration of cultural commonalities. The seven artists are Dadang Christanto - Indonesia, Rene Boutin - New Caledonia, Narvin Rawanchaikul - Thailand, Ken Thaiday Jr - Torres Strait, Jill Chism - Far North Queensland, Pamela Lofts - Northern Territory, Zane Saunders - Far North Queensland. They sought to develop a language of artistic understanding, a collusion of creativity to bridge their diverse points of origin. The artists that were involved in the Linkage Leakage project share a relationship with environmental and social concerns, although from different cultural backgrounds. Through their work, the artists discussed the tension between traditional and western values, political and social oppression, the bonds of the land and the assertion of a cultural identity. The curator of the Linkage Leakage project was Far North Queensland artist Russell Milledge, and the administration through Kick Arts Collective Inc. |