Art at The Cutaway
John Hill
22. March 2022
Installation view, 23rd Biennale of Sydney, rīvus, 2022, The Cutaway at Barangaroo. (Photo: Document Photography)
The 23rd Biennale of Sydney, rīvus, opened earlier this month with more than 330 artworks by over 80 participants spread across various venues in the Australian city. Photogenic highlights are the large-scale artworks on display at The Cutaway, a subterranean space at Barangaroo Reserve.
Under artistic director José Roca, the 23rd Biennale of Sydney is titled rīvus, referring to "dynamic living systems with varying degrees of political agency." According to the curatorial statement, "rīvus invites several aqueous beings into a dialogue with artists, architects, designers, scientists, and communities, entangling multiple voices and other modes of communication." The aim of "considering the water ecology’s perspective" is enabling "a fundamental shift in understanding our relationship with the rest of the natural world as a porous chronicle of interwoven fates."
The aquatic theme is apparent among some of the two-dozen artists and artist-teams displaying at The Cutaway, as presented in photographs of the venue below.
This installation view of the 23rd Biennale of Sydney at The Cutaway at Barangaroo illustrates the imposing size of the 6,500-square-meter space, designed by WMK Architecture, that is sandwiched between a 300-car parking garage and a botanic garden overhead. (Photo: Document Photography)
Looking in the opposite direction from the above photograph, the massive sandstone excavation in the naturally ventilated void space is a constant presence and a source of natural light for exhibitions and other events. (Photo: Document Photography)
On to a few of the artworks: Suspended from the ceiling in the foreground is Flotilla by Leeroy New, which features a flotilla of boats made from bamboo, water containers, PET bottles, twine, bicycle wheel frames, ribbons, other found objects. (Photo: Document Photography)
In the foreground here is Water ecosystem by Ana Barboza and Rafael Freyre; the mixed-media installation celebrates the symbolic role of water in Peru, where the artists are from. (Photo: Document Photography)
The most impressive artwork at The Cutaway is Flow by Cave Urban, a Sydney-based multidisciplinary studio formed by artists, architects and designers. (Photo: Document Photography)
