Asian Field

Exhibition Review                         August 2006


Exhibition:     Asian Field
               Part the 2006 Biennale’ of Sydney
               Pier 2/3 Walsh Bay
               8 June – 27 August 2006


For me, the figures evoke the spirit of our ancestors and the spirit of the unborn – those who are yet to come. All those mouthless ones seem to be asking or judging us.   Antony Gormley, Artist. (Handbook, 2006 Biennale of Sydney).

This remarkable installation is in two parts.  Walking upstairs into the outer space the visitor is shown 600 photographs which document the 300 local Chinese makers beside one of their chosen pieces.  The inner space contains thousands of these appealing or disturbing figures, depending on how one reacts to the thousands of ‘eyes’ looking up at the viewer.  They surround old machinery on the floor of the warehouse and swarm around the pillars to spill towards the open doorway.  Made in two tones of clay, they are grouped in such a way as to give the impression of cloud-like shadows.

Anthony Gormley, an English artist has been making the Field project series for over 15 years.  The original concept was to make a similar installation on each continent.

Gormley supervised the installation of this travelling exhibition which took 30 people 6 days to install.  The pieces were shipped in 2500 containers from China.  They were made in Xianxian village in Guangzhou in 2003.  The village has a history of clayworks, though the workers are more likely to have been firing clay bricks, not lumpy, unglazed figures.

In this instance the viewer is treated to the accompanying photographs of the makers.  Each photograph documents the individual qualities of each piece.  The makers range from young children to elderly men and women.  Some pieces are holding clay articles such as a ball or seem to sprout a scarf from their shoulders.  There are also some variations in size.  Some are approximately 30 cm tall while others are barely 10 cm.  Some are skinny and some are fat and squat.

Unlike Gormleys’ previous installation at the Art Gallery of NSW, A field for the Art Gallery of New South Wales 1989, the viewer is unable to walk amongst these figures.  This is somewhat frustrating for the viewer, as the photographs around the warehouse walls titillate the senses; amongst all these pieces where is the one holding the ball?

This installation differs from the 1989 work in the way it provokes the sense of touch, another unfulfilled frustration for the viewer.  Perhaps by being allowed to walk through the 1989 Field for the Art Gallery of NSW these frustrations were less apparent.

If Gormley’s concept was to engage the viewer with these thousands of small beings, then he has certainly been successful.  By giving each figure eyes which seem to look up, by crowding them together and by allowing individuality, they also reflect the unknown masses of China today.

Reference:
Personal notes
Handbook, 2006 Biennale of Sydney
Website:
http://www.insideartexpress.com.au/education/quotes/gormley