Time Out of Time at TarraWarra

This Spring TarraWarra Museum of Art presents the first major Australian solo exhibition by internationally renowned contemporary French artist Pierre Huyghe. On Saturday October 24 the exhibition is teamed with a performance by Liquid Architecture. A shuttle bus will run from Fed Square, providing the perfect day of art, wine and performance.

Initiated by Victoria Lynn and co-curated by Amelia Barikin, Pierre Huyghe’s exhibition asks audiences to rethink the natural world. Lynn contacted the artist and met in Paris two years ago. They worked closely together to develop the exhibition, looking at how the works could be displayed specifically for the TarraWarra space. The result is an original combination of works with a site specific arrangement.

The TarraWarra gallery is situated in an idyllic landscape, prompting audiences to think about the overlooked layers of the environment including insect life, the history of the natural world, through to colonisation. new ways of living. Insects, history, colonisation.

The exhibition features different types of media, film, photos, living situations and sculptures to present an imaginative interpretation of time. The works juxtapose different types of time be it animal, geological, ancient archaeology and the time of the artwork itself.

One piece in particular challenges visitors and indeed the museum itself. Live ants feature in one work, giving rise to a suite of expert consultations and preparation strategies. After all, ants don’t obey the normal rules of performance artwork. Entitled Umwelt, the piece highlights the contrasting rhythms of humans and nature.

Exhibition highlights include the mesmerising L’Expédition Scintillante Acte 2 Untitled (Light Box), 2002, a hallucinatory display of light, smoke and sound; Umwelt (2011), in which living spiders and ants inhabit the gallery, and several of Huyghe’s critically acclaimed films including A Way in Untilled (2012) – shot on site during Huyghe’s dOCUMENTA (13) project in Kassel – and A Journey That Wasn’t (2005) which traces Huyghe’s journey to Antarctica in search of a rare albino penguin.

Time out of Time: An Afternoon in the Valley
 Saturday 24 October, 12pm – 6:30pm, TarraWarra Museum of Art

The afternoon begins with an optional bus ride from Federation Square to TarraWarra, accompanied by a specially commissioned sound work. At 2pm, a panel of curators, artists and philosophers will offer their creative insights and thoughts into the workings of time across aspects of art, lived experience, and the fabric of the cosmos. At 3.30pm, Liquid Architecture artists create live, time-based performances throughout the Museum and surrounding grounds. After refreshments, the bus will take us back to the city, as we recall the myriad of sensations experienced throughout the day. Information and bookings at twma.com.au

Pierre Huyghe, L’Expédition Scintillante, Act 2 (light show), 2002 Collection Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC)
Exhibition view Raven Row, London, 2013 Photograph by Marcus J. Leith

Pierre Huyghe will show at TarraWarra Museum of Art until 22 November 2015.