Campbelltown Arts Centre and Sydney Festival have joined forces to present the world premiere of Another Day in Paradise, the first major exhibition by the late Myuran Sukumaran, a member of the Bali Nine.
Sukumaran’s paintings will hang alongside a series of newly commissioned artworks by leading Australian artists.
The exhibition, to open on January 13, has been co-curated by close friend and mentor Ben Quilty, and Campbelltown Arts Centre director Michael Dagostino.
It presents a vast and sobering series of powerful portraits by Sukumaran, painted during his incarceration at Bali’s Kerobokan jail and from his final incarceration on Nusa Kambangan Island.
The artworks prove the profound power of art to change lives, and bring to light the importance of forgiveness and compassion for humanity.
“We’re honoured to present Myuran Sukumaran’s first major exhibition and to place his work alongside leading Australian artists,’’ says Michael Dagostino.
“Myuran’s story is proof of the true potential for art to change lives, even in the most extraordinary circumstances.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“A contemporary art gallery in the heart of Western Sydney, we are pleased to present an exhibition which explores one of the most complex but important issues of our time,” Dagostino said.[/social_quote]
Alongside more than 100 artworks by Sukumaran, Campbelltown Arts Centre has commissioned artworks by seven leading Australian artists.
The commissioned artworks explore the transformative power of art, the death penalty and profile human rights through multiple layers of social justice systems globally.
Artists commissioned to present works include: Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Safdar Ahmed, Megan Cope, Jagath Dheerasekara, Taloi Havini, Khaled Sabsabi, and Matthew Sleeth.
Co-curator Ben Quilty says: “Myuran’s artistic practice was sacred to him.
“Despite being faced with the most barbaric act of execution, Myuran maintained the most extraordinary dignity.
“It speaks a lot to the human condition and even more to the practice of art; he found solace in it.
“For Myuran, painting was his religion.”
Quilty says that Myuran would be incredibly proud to be exhibiting works alongside some of Australia’s most innovative and interesting artists.
“The act of creating also ensures a legacy, and Myuran was very aware that he had created a body of work that would go on, beyond his physical body.
“He went to his execution knowing that he had created a visual language that would speak out against the barbarism of the death penalty around the world.”
Sydney Festival director Wesley Enoch speaks of the exhibition’s capacity to deepen political conversations.
“Another Day in Paradise is a meditation on the power of art to redeem and a strong message of how capital punishment is a refusal to accept a person can change, can be rehabilitated and potentially offer back to a society a narrative of forgiveness.”
In conjunction with the exhibition, Campbelltown Arts Centre will present three Saturday symposiums throughout the exhibition period.
The symposiums aim to start conversations around the exhibition themes through the voice of artists and experts in the field of social justice systems.
The symposium topics include: “Myuran Sukumaran – his story’’, “the death penalty and its ramifications’’, and “global social justice systems’’.
The February symposium will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of the last person to be legally executed in Australia on February 3, 1967.
SNAPSHOT:
WHAT: World premiere – Myuran Sukumaran: Another Day in Paradise
WHERE: Campbelltown Arts Centre
WHEN: January 13 – March 26, 10am – 4pm
TICKETS: Free – visit the website here.
