Air

(Hardback)

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Air showcases immersive and large-scale works by leading international and Australian artists exploring the cultural, ecological and political dimensions of air. Published as a creative response to and historical document of QAGOMA's summer 2022-23 blockbuster exhibition of the same name, Air presents a journey through this invisible, ethereal and vital resource, reflecting on awareness of our shared atmosphere as life-giving, potentially dangerous and rapidly warming. Like its predecessor Water, presented by QAGOMA in 2019-20, Air encourages us to consider questions of sustainability and connectivity in the face of environmental and social challenges. Artists and artworks include Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Collection favourites, including Ron Mueck's monumental human sculpture In bed 2005; Anthony McCall's solid-light installation Crossing 2016; and Jonathon Jones and Dr Uncle Stan Grant Snr AM's lyrical evocation of wind, breath and bird call, untitled (giran) 2018; along with a significant new commission by Argentine contemporary artist Toms Saraceno. In addition to informative short texts on each of the artists featured, the publication includes an introductory text by the curator, Geraldine Kirrihi Barlow, as well as an essay on the history of air in art by QAGOMA curators Nina Miall and Sophie Rose. Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska, Faculty of Science, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, QUT, Brisbane, addresses air and its role in evolution from the perspective of a physicist; and writer and broadcaster Daniel Browning explores the greater theme of shared natural resources in Indigenous philosophy and learning. An indispensable guide to this major exhibition at GOMA this summer.