Fremantle Biennale: Undercurrent 19
UNDERCURRENT 19 is the second edition of the Fremantle Biennale: a West Australian contemporary art program showcasing experimental site-responsive work from established and emerging artists from across the world. This year it will present the light installation Waterlicht by Studio Roosegaarde, founded by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde. This will be the first time the studio has presented this climate crisis-focused work in the Southern Hemisphere.
The key work for this year's Biennale, Waterlicht takes the form of cascading waves of blue light that simulate a virtual flood, calling attention to rising water levels along Fremantle's shoreline. The work will embrace the unique physical features of the site, acknowledging its past as reclaimed land and a significant site for the Whadjuk people. An accompanying soundscape podcast will feature local histories and current realities of Fremantle's waterfront narrated by traditional custodians, prominent civic figures, historians and artists.
Running until November 24, 2019, the Fremantle Biennale also features 15 new commissions including large-scale artworks, installations, architectural pavilions, performances and group exhibitions realised in new and found sites across the port city, featuring over 40 local, national and international artists. WA artist Bennett Miller will present a series of interventions, installations and live performances that take place across multiple sites throughout Fremantle, and a work combining film and commissioned performance. Australian artist and curator Kelsey Ashe Giambazi will examine Western Australia's historically significant pearling industry through the lens of Indigenous pearl divers and Japanese migrants who traversed the port of Fremantle and northern WA in the late 19th century.
