“West Space East”
Damiano Bertoli, Bianca Hester and Sue Dodd
19 Oct → 10 Nov 2007

West Space East is conceived as a project which aims to facilitate new dialogues between international artists and artist run initiatives.

This exchange involves the presentation of a selection of works and a forum by Melbourne-based artists at Plastique Kinetic Worms (PKW) in Singapore coordinated by West Space in Melbourne.

While this project is facilitated through these organisations, it holds, as its most fundamental element, the artists involved in the project, rather than the organisations themselves. By their inherent nature, artist-run initiatives are established, supported and developed for and by the artists involved. They are a vital part of the development of visual culture as they create a support structure for experimental arts practice, acting as a working model to give artists direct control over the means and conditions of presenting their work to the public.

West Space East brings together three of Melbourne’s most innovative contemporary artists to create a small, yet significant introduction to the diversity of current practice in Australia, and to the featured artists' commitment to experimentation and innovation across mediums. The artists who will present projects as part of West Space East are Damiano Bertoli, Bianca Hester and Sue Dodd. While their artistic practices may be relatively well known within Australia, and in particular Melbourne, the city where they all currently reside, their works will be unfamiliar to the arts community in Singapore. Each artist has, over the past decade or more, forged an innovative and distinctive artistic practice which is beginning to garner international recognition.

Significantly, within the context of this exhibition, the selection of artists have all had sustained involvement with a number of artist run initiatives in Melbourne, including West Space. Their respective involvements have included exhibiting projects, collaborations, contributing publication texts and serving on committees. After their various involvements with West Space they have developed other artist-run initiatives and projects presented therein, while concurrently creating projects for larger arts institutions throughout Australia and internationally.

It should be noted that West Space East is a project which aims to present a diversity of artists' works, rather than attempting to categorically present a Melbourne artistic style as such. The artists involved are not, in the instance of this project, linked through their mediums or artistic or conceptual concerns. Their works will provide an insight into their practices which will serve as the starting point for a dialogue about art-making in Australia and subsequently, in Singapore.

While the physical manifestation of the exhibition is integral to the project, the objective of West Space East is to develop a dialogue between the visiting Australian artists and the local Singaporean arts community. The overall emphasis of the project is not the creation of new projects, as it often is within the vernacular of artistic exchange, but rather to meet artists and establish new dialogues and networks between Singaporean and Australian artists and artist-run initiatives.

The practices of these artists, along with those of their peers, and their involvement with artist-run initiatives will form the basis of a forum that will be presented at PKW coinciding with the exhibition of West Space East. This will allow the artists and curators to discuss the issues, opportunities and infrastructures negotiated by contemporary Australian artists. Importantly, this will also provide an opportunity for the Australian artists to meet Singaporean artists so that further networks can be initiated and that they may gain an understanding of the practices of, and issues facing, contemporary Singaporean artists.

Both Melbourne and Singapore could be regarded as outsiders within the sphere of international artistic prominence, yet both have a growing confidence, being reflected within their respective arts industries. Yet, what do these cities share, one an Asian metropolis, the other, a new world culture atop an old world continent As visitors we will undoubtedly be awed by the exoticism of historical and contemporary Singapore before the commonalities and differences are navigated, and considered and discussed. This possibility is created through the exchange that West Space East presents, one that holds dialogue at its core, and understanding as its objective.