MEDIA KIT - Queensland Art Gallery - Queensland Government

GONKAR GYATSO
b.1961, Lhasa, Tibet
Lives and works in London, United Kingdom
Gonkar Gyatso’s youth coincided with the period of the Cultural Revolution when much art and culture was destroyed,
and traditional Tibetan art forms ― most of which were tied to religion ― were forbidden. While studying Chinese
calligraphy in Beijing, Gyatso became aware of the distinctiveness of his heritage and after graduating, moved to
Dharamsala, India, where he studied traditional Tibetan thangka (scroll painting), before moving to London. Gyatso
founded the Sweet Tea House in 1985, which became the first Tibetan avant-garde artists’ association. Since his
move to London, his works have aimed to map the shifts in identity and belonging caused by continual migration. His
current practice combines traditional calligraphy and the iconography of Buddhist thangka painting with collages of
colourful stickers, cut-out text and mass-media imagery, subverting typecast notions of Tibetan culture and considering
the popularisation of Buddhism in the West. APT6 will feature collages as well as a new nine-metre work on paper,
commissioned for the exhibition.
Exhibitions (solo): ‘Tibetan Word: Art of Communication’, The Sweet Tea House, London, 2004. Exhibitions (group):
53rd Biennale of Venice, Italy, 2009; ‘Thermocline of Art: New Asian Waves’, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2007.
www.gonkargyatso.com
KYUNGAH HAM
b.1966 Seoul, South Korea
Lives and works in Seoul, South Korea
Kyungah Ham works across installation, video, performance and traditional media. Her recent works include blue-andwhite
porcelain sculptures of weaponry and Persian carpets traced in oil, critically exploring the dynamics of war. Her
textile project, featured in APT6, was begun in 2008 as a means to communicate with North Koreans about such
issues, which continue to influence the everyday lives of people on both sides of the border. To make the works, Ham
collects images and articles on terrorism and violence from the print media and the internet, which are then edited and
sent to female artisans in North Korea (via China) to be embroidered, using traditional techniques, into textiles. In
doing so, Ham enacts a dialogue that extends across the barriers of ideology and physical distance that mark South
Korean relations with its northern neighbour. Given the risk of censorship and confiscation, the images and
embroideries are often transmitted in parts, to be reconfigured by the artist as the final work. Ham’s tapestry
compositions reflect both historical and contemporary episodes of conflict, and construct a strange and compelling
mixture of propaganda, social activism and personal memory.
Exhibitions (solo): Ssamzie Space, Seoul, South Korea, 2008. Exhibitions (group): ‘Correspondence’, Artsonje Center,
Seoul, 2008; Gwangju Biennale, South Korea, 2006; Yokohama Triennale, Japan, 2001.
HO TZU NYEN
b.1976 Singapore
Lives and works in Singapore
Ho Tzu Nyen’s practice ranges across filmmaking, painting, performance and writing, and investigates the forms,
methods and languages of art; the relationship between the still, the painted and the moving image; and the
construction of history. His films expose the apparatus of cinema by mixing varied genres from music video to
documentary, creating highly artificial sets, or by making cameras, crew and lighting a key part of the action. For APT6,
Ho will produce two new films. Zarathustra 2009 draws on the writing of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche –
which explores the potential of humankind to overcome their environment – as well as the music Nietzsche inspired —
‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’ by Richard Strauss, famously used by Stanley Kubrick in his 1968 film 2001: A Space
Odyssey. The Last Days of H the Happy Robot 2009, a modern fable created for the Kids’ APT about the nature of
technology, features a cardboard robot named H who eventually becomes obsolete. Set in a future Singapore, the
work will be presented within a specially created cardboard environment, inviting children into H’s world.
Exhibitions (solo): The Substation, Singapore, 2003. Exhibitions (group): Singapore Biennale, 2006; 3rd Fukuoka
Asian Art Triennale, Japan, 2005; 26th São Paulo Bienal, Brazil, 2004. Film festivals: Cannes International Film
Festival, France, 2009; Hong Kong International Film Festival, China, 2006; Bangkok International Film Festival,
Thailand, 2004.