Savanhdary Vongpoothorn: All that Arises, 25-year survey of the Lao-Australian artist’s work
Drill Hall Gallery, 16 August-13 October 2019.
Funding: Australia Council for the Arts (with Savanhdary Vongpoothorn), $29,400.

Curator and author: Chaitanya Sambrani

Savanhdary Vongpoothorn’s deeply contemplative work is remarkable in sustaining creative and critical relationships with multiple influences. Marked by an enduring interest in her South-East Asian origins and their relationship to contemporary Australia, her work bridges contemporary realities with historical reference, advancing a practice that is inherently hybrid and polyvalent.

Her practice has been recently extended through a collaboration with noted Japanese tanka poet and calligrapher Noriko Tanaka. The exhibition will feature a major new installation of handmade Japanese paper resulting from this collaboration, which originated in the precincts of the Todai-ji temple complex in Nara, Japan. The exhibition features more than 50 of Vongpoothorn’s works across nearly 25 years, ranging in scale from large triptychs on canvas to intimate works on paper.