Biennale of Sydney 2024
@ The White Bay Power Station
9 March - 10 June 2024
24th Biennale of Sydney 2024 Artistic Directors
at The White Bay Power Station
Photograph by Joshua Morris
Artistic Directors Cosmin Costinaș and Inti Guerrero
Media Launch at The White Bay Power Station
Photograph by Daniel Boud
Media Launch at The White Bay Power Station
Photograph by Daniel Boud
The White Bay Power Station was constructed between 1912 ans 1917. It remained in service until 1984. The White Bay Power Station will be one of the locations of the 24th Biennale of Sydney 2024.
The announced artists on view at The White Bay Power Station for the 24th Biennale of Sydney 2024 include Dylan Mooney, Darrell Sibosado, the collective VNS Matrix, Martin Wong.
Photo: Rhett Hammerton. Courtesy of the artist
Grevillea Venusta – Grevillea (from the Intertwined series), 2022
Digital illustration hand-painted with Yuwi ochre, 120 x 88cm
Image courtesy of the artist and N. Smith Gallery, Sydney
Still Thriving (from the Still Thriving series), 2023
Digital illustration hand-painted with Yuwi ochre, 118.9 x 84.1cm
Image courtesy of the artist and N. Smith Gallery, Sydney
Our Islands, Our Homes, 2021
Digital illustration printed on 320gsm cotton paper, 84.1 x 59.4cm
Image courtesy of the artist and N. Smith Gallery, Sydney
Artist DYLAN MOONEY, a Yuwi, Torres Strait and South Sea Islander man from Mackay (North Queensland). Working across painting, printmaking, digital illustration and drawing, the artist is known for his high-impact illustrative style with bright, saturated colour, creating works influenced by history, culture and family. He will create a large-scale mural celebrating the life of the late queer, First Nations dancer and activist Malcolm Cole, who led the first Aboriginal float at the 1988 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Through this new commission, Dylan Mooney will commemorate Malcolm Cole’s life and activism in the queer and Aboriginal communities.
Photography:The National Gallery of Australia
Aalingoon (Rainbow Serpent), 2019
Corten Steel, 550 x 300 cm
Collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia
Photographer: N. Smith Gallery
Courtesy the artist and N.Smith Gallery, Sydney
© Darrell Sibosado
Ngarrgidj Morr (the proper path to follow), 2022
Powder-coated steel, LED tubes, fittings, electrical component
300 x 245 x 8 cm (each panel)
Collection of The National Gallery of Australia
Photographer: The National Gallery of Australia
© Darrell Sibosado
Gulgan (Fishtrap), 2014
Etching printed in red ink on paper
39.7 x 30.3 cm
Courtesy the artist and N.Smith Gallery, Sydney
© Darrell Sibosado
DARRELL SIBOSADO is a Bard man from Lombadina, situated on the Dampier Peninsula of the Kimberley coast, Western Australia. His practice explores the innovative potential of the riji (pearl shell) designs within a contemporary context. Passed down over countless generations, the designs represent the detached scales of Aalingoon, the Rainbow Snake, as he rests on the ocean surface, shedding his scales containing traditional knowledge and beliefs. Through his printmaking and installations, Sibosado reflects on traditional Bard lore and is intent on reiterating that Aboriginal culture is a living, adaptive culture that undeniably commands a presence in the contemporary space. For the 24th Biennale of Sydney, Sibosado will create a neon work centred around the meticulous preparations and movements orchestrated in harmony with the rich traditions and deeply rooted networks of kinship, obligations and interpersonal relationships that are fostered within Sibosado’s community.
Image courtesy the artists
Viral Pleasure World [still] (from ‘VNS Matrix Virtual Theme Parks’),1996
Commissioned by Performance Space Sydney
in association with the Australian Film Commission
Image courtesy the artists
Corpusfantastica [still] (from ‘Bad Code’), 1997
Digital image
Image courtesy the artists
Australian (Adelaide/Tarntanya) feminist art collective VNS Matrix emerged in 1991 to challenge the male-dominated culture of technology and cyberspace. Their installations, happenings, posters, games, and manifestos explore the sexual, political, and aesthetic dimensions of gendered relationships with technology. They coined the term cyberfeminism to capture their radical vision of empowerment, embodiment, and resistance in the digital age. Notable works including A Cyberfeminist Manifesto for the 21st Century have been widely translated and circulated. Their legacy continues to manifest, inspiring new generations of artists and activists. VNS Matrix is Josephine Starrs, Julianne Pierce, Francesca da Rimini, and Virginia Barratt.
Chief Executive Officer of Biennale of Sydney Barbara Moore said: “We are thrilled to be hosting the first major event at White Bay Power Station. Admission is free. We are presenting some of the best contemporary art from around the world and across Australia, with a robust program of music and food too, and we can't wait for you to experience it. For 50 years, the Biennale of Sydney has brought people together to think about and talk about the world we live in, infusing art into the very fabric of Sydney and rejuvenated public spaces across the city. In March, we swing the doors to White Bay Power Station wide open, and we can't wait for you to be part of it.”Minister for the Arts John Graham said: “The Biennale of Sydney at White Bay Power Station will be a major event on the international stage and will draw people from all over the world to view the work of some of the best local, national and international artists in a magnificent new space, with free admission for all.“The event will harness Bays West’s rich First Nations, multicultural and industrial histories into the iconic location, serving as a world-class destination for people visiting Sydney.”Chief Executive of Placemaking NSW Anita Mitchell said: “Placemaking NSW is delighted to have secured Biennale of Sydney as the first free public activation at the site.“The opening of White Bay Power Station is the first step in the transformation of the Bays West precinct in line with the Bays West Place Strategy.”Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said: “White Bay Power Station was powering Sydney’s trams and dominating the harbour skyline before the Harbour Bridge and then Opera House captured our attention.“While planning is underway for its long-term future, we are taking this opportunity to let the community immerse themselves in the site, through a program of events and activations, starting with the Biennale of Sydney.”
YouTube Screen Shot
For a short history of The White Bay Power Station since its construction, you can look at a short video on YouTube realized by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment:
BIENNALE OF SYDNEY