The exhibition Internecine — The Vanished Musicians is a multi media exhibition that deals with immigration issues related to Australia’s recent history.
The first point of focus is the story of 96 jazz musicians who escaped from Nazi Germany and arrived in Australia to be faced with the prospect of no longer being musicians.
The exhibition is made up of an assortment of visual art pieces on the walls, sound installations, video and other floor installations. It is quite a mix.
While some of the works stand-alone and could be interpreted in many ways, the whole exhibition requires an understanding of the theme. For this there is no explanatory leaflet available or the usual curatorial text on the walls. Therefore it is recommended that you take in some of the pre-publicity before you visit.
As I have hinted at above, there is a range of works as the artists have responded differently to the theme. Some have produced a very literal interpretation while other have a more abstract approach to the subject matter. My favourites were a couple of collages.
While this variance may not please all, the stand out success is that it all comes together as a powerful message that we all need to consider — especially in the current political climate.
While Australia is a successful multi-cultural country, we have not always done well in handling refugees. This exhibition deals with some of that history as well as touching on the current refugee issues.
There are works for sale, and the cost to me for doing this review could be that I will be purchasing one.
This is an exhibition is definitely worth the visit—and on the weekends there is free parking over the road in and around the Science Building or the Film and Sound Archive.
The curator of this exhibition has done well.
Recommended.
Internecine: The Vanished Musicians,
Nishi Gallery, New Acton, till 25th August 2015
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