Cockatoo Island, a short ferry ride from Sydney’s Circular Quay, is the least likely place one would expect to be simultaneously cast and filmed for a motion picture set predominantly in Berkeley, California. But A-frame signage dotted around the abandoned shipyard informs visitors of their every move potentially being documented.
Reading the fine print, cryptic clues allude to the playful yet complex British conceptual artist, Ryan Gander, whose newly commissioned installation, Other Places, is somewhere to be discovered. He is one of 21 artists exhibiting on the island, just one of the seven locations for the 21st Biennale of Sydney, ‘Superposition: Equilibrium & Engagement’, curated by Mami Kataoka.
The fictional film Time Moves Quickly is about a man’s obsession with Erving Goffman, the American sociologist who analysed human interaction using analogies to the theatre. Similarly, Gander’s opus is a simulated construct. Esoteric texts and objects are intentionally used to entice viewers to decipher their own narrative or explanation, often to inconclusive ends. ‘Unlike entertainment, things do change in the meaning of my work. Viewers bring the other half of interpretation to it,’ he says.
Installation view of Other Places, 2018, by Ryan Gander, at Cockatoo Island for the 21st Biennale of Sydney. Courtesy of the artist. Presentation at the 21st Biennale of Sydney was made possible with generous support from GrantPirrie Private; Ishikawa Foundation, Okayama, Japan; Taro Nasu; and the British Council
Isolated on a hilltop, Gander’s snow-covered streetscape is trapped behind a glass wall with models of artefacts from his life and artistic practice (including an engraved tombstone for a fictional Japanese artist) rising from freshly laid artificial snow. Within the enclosed room replicated at 1:1 scale, a sign provides the first clue: Whitton Drive. Located in Chester, England, it is where the artist grew up.
Black stones circumnavigating the set recall a Zen Japanese rock garden or karesansui – a place of quiet contemplation and reflection. Gander’s pristine artificial landscape evoking childhood wonder is the perfect counterbalance to the stresses of a hyperconnected existence. It too is impenetrable.
A toppled Breuer chair after a blizzard of snow, 2017, by Ryan Gander, ‘Wassily Model B3’ chair, marble resin. Courtesy of the 21st Biennale of Sydney
Glowing steps and a door leading to the room are blocked, while a window on the far wall displays an algorithmic view from Gander’s studio depicting weather conditions. ‘It represents the idea of the artist looking out the window for inspiration,’ he offers, while it simultaneously acknowledges the dichotomy of his practice. His ‘studio’ has become the stage for his augmented realities.
Another portal into this parallel universe is the large screen located behind the glass wall. Displaying a live feed from cameras located in an adjacent viewing room, it transports viewers momentarily within, yet purposely hinders their accessibility to this reconstructed world as they cannot physically explore it.
A fragment of the setting strangely appears in the viewing room – a snow-dusted upturned Breuer chair – perhaps hinting at the dreamlike reality beyond the room. ‘It’s about time and space. The only thing that is truly stationary is just us,’ Gander muses.
Installation view of Other Places, 2018, by Ryan Gander, at Cockatoo Island for the 21st Biennale of Sydney. Courtesy of the artist
Installation view of Other Places, 2018, by Ryan Gander, at Cockatoo Island for the 21st Biennale of Sydney. Courtesy of the artist
INFORMATION
The Biennale of Sydney runs until 11 June. For more information, visit the website
-
Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuitElla Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
-
Australian bathhouse ‘About Time’ bridges softness and brutalism‘About Time’, an Australian bathhouse designed by Goss Studio, balances brutalist architecture and the softness of natural patina in a Japanese-inspired wellness hub
-
The art of the textile label: how British mill-made cloth sold itself to Indian buyersAn exhibition of Indo-British textile labels at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru is a journey through colonial desire and the design of mass persuasion
-
From counter-culture to Northern Soul, these photos chart an intimate history of working-class Britain‘After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989 – 2024’ is at Edinburgh gallery Stills
-
Surrealism as feminist resistance: artists against fascism in Leeds‘The Traumatic Surreal’ at the Henry Moore Institute, unpacks the generational trauma left by Nazism for postwar women
-
From activism and capitalism to club culture and subculture, a new exhibition offers a snapshot of 1980s BritainThe turbulence of a colourful decade, as seen through the lens of a diverse community of photographers, collectives and publications, is on show at Tate Britain until May 2025
-
Jasleen Kaur wins the Turner Prize 2024Jasleen Kaur has won the Turner Prize 2024, recognised for her work which reflects upon everyday objects
-
Peggy Guggenheim: ‘My motto was “Buy a picture a day” and I lived up to it’Five years spent at her Sussex country retreat inspired Peggy Guggenheim to reframe her future, kickstarting one of the most thrilling modern-art collections in history
-
Please do touch the art: enter R.I.P. Germain’s underground world in LiverpoolR.I.P. Germain’s ‘After GOD, Dudus Comes Next!’ is an immersive installation at FACT Liverpool
-
‘Regeneration and repair is a really important part of how I work’: Bharti Kher at Yorkshire Sculpture ParkBharti Kher unveils the largest UK museum exhibition of her career at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
