A senior lecturer <strong>in</strong> art history and critical theory, L<strong>in</strong>da Williams also heads RMIT’s art and environmental susta<strong>in</strong>ability "cluster" <strong>of</strong> artists and researchers, which focuses on cultural <strong>in</strong>terpretations <strong>of</strong> the non-human world and how they contribute to knowledge <strong>of</strong> the environment and the crisis <strong>in</strong> ecological susta<strong>in</strong>ability. In September 2008, she curated Heat, a major art exhibition gather<strong>in</strong>g the work <strong>of</strong> Australian and <strong>in</strong>ternational artists work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a diverse range <strong>of</strong> media to demonstrate how contemporary <strong>in</strong>ternational art practice is respond<strong>in</strong>g to the impacts <strong>of</strong> climate change. Dr Williams said “We are used to scientists provid<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>formation we receive on climate change. This exhibition is unique because it starts to picture what these changes might look like.” We discussed the exhibition and the role played by the arts <strong>in</strong> challeng<strong>in</strong>g climate change with the academic/curator. Can you describe the genesis <strong>of</strong> the show? When was it conceived, and how long did it take you to plan? In 2006 I co-curated a show called <strong>The</strong> Idea <strong>of</strong> the animal at the RMIT gallery <strong>in</strong> Melbourne, which came out <strong>of</strong> my research <strong>in</strong>to the history and theory <strong>of</strong> human-animal relations. Initially, at least, the idea for HEAT was an extension <strong>of</strong> that research <strong>in</strong>s<strong>of</strong>ar as mass ext<strong>in</strong>ction is an unavoidable aspect <strong>of</strong> contemporary human-animal relations. However, research for the exhibition soon pivoted around more general questions about how contemporary culture is adapt<strong>in</strong>g to climate change, and how artists <strong>in</strong>terpret the rapid changes occurr<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the non-human world. <strong>The</strong> show which was team curated 72 took about a year to plan. HEAT Heat - Art and climate change brought together the work <strong>of</strong> twenty-two Australian and <strong>in</strong>ternational artists, and collaborators, for a sensory experience <strong>of</strong> climate change through pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs, photography, soundscapes, <strong>in</strong>stallations and <strong>in</strong>teractive media. It is the first <strong>in</strong>ternational exhibition on this subject <strong>in</strong> Australia and will explore issues <strong>of</strong> degradation, global warm<strong>in</strong>g, over consumption, ext<strong>in</strong>ction and man’s impact on nature. Questions by Paula Lee How does this exhibition fit <strong>in</strong>side the larger goals and programm<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the RMIT Gallery and the Arts and Environmental Research Cluster? It seems to me that the RMIT gallery is quite dist<strong>in</strong>ctive <strong>in</strong> the diversity <strong>of</strong> its programme and does not necessarily conform to fashionable directions <strong>in</strong> critique, or <strong>in</strong> the art market, as is the case with some other galleries. As a university gallery it has a brief to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> an evenhanded engagement with all aspects <strong>of</strong> the university, and responds to research that presents new approaches to art, as was the case with work com<strong>in</strong>g from the Arts and Environmental Research Cluster, which is located <strong>in</strong> the School <strong>of</strong> Art. <strong>The</strong>re are artists <strong>in</strong> this research cluster such as Simon Perry and Philip Samartzis, and others closely affiliated with it such as Cameron Robb<strong>in</strong>s, whose work is focused on the relations between human and non-human environments. <strong>The</strong> gallery team and I <strong>in</strong>vited them <strong>in</strong>to the show, and then others were selected from Australia, New Zealand, England and Germany. We also saw a fair bit <strong>of</strong> work that we rejected - either because it wouldn’t fit <strong>in</strong> with the works already selected, or was otherwise unsuitable. Given the fragility <strong>of</strong> many <strong>of</strong> the works, such as the sugar sculptures by Ken Yonetani, were there any special considerations that had to be taken <strong>in</strong>to account regard<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>stallation? Were there other artists you might have liked to <strong>in</strong>clude, but whose work could not be be <strong>in</strong>stallation? Were there other artists you
Ken Yonetani <strong>The</strong> Dead Sea, 2008, ceramics (porcela<strong>in</strong>) and sand, <strong>in</strong>stallation RMIT Gallery � Ken Yonetani 73
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Antennae Issue 10 - Summer 2009 ISS
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