Five artists have announced their withdrawal from the 19th Sydney Biennale in the wake of a continuing dispute over the activities of the Biennale’s founding sponsors, Transfield.
The artists – Libia Castro, Ólafur Ólafsson, Charlie Sofo, Gabrielle de Vietri and Ahmet Öğüt – were co-signatories, along with another 36 artists taking part in the Biennale, to an open letter sent to the board of Sydney Biennale on 19 February. The letter called on the board to withdraw from the current sponsorship arrangements with Transfield.
The dispute stems from Transfield’s involvement with the running of offshore immigration centres, and the Australian government’s policy of the mandatory detention of asylum seekers.
In a statement released on the #19BoS Working Group blog, the five artists said: “We make this statement in light of Transfield’s expanding management of Manus Island and Nauru immigration detention centres. We act in the wake of the death of Reza Berati from inside Manus Island detention centre on February 17. We are in urgent political circumstances with a government that is stepping up their warfare on the world’s most vulnerable people daily.
“We have received indications from the Board of the Biennale and Transfield that there will be no movement on their involvement in this issue. In our letter to the Board we asked for action and engagement, but we are told that the issue is too complex, and that the financial agreements are too important to re-negotiate. And so we make this statement from a critical juncture of political urgency and artistic autonomy… We have revoked our works, cancelled our public events and relinquished our artists’ fees.”
Conscience and hope
The artists state that, instead of taking part in the Biennale, they will continue the debate around Australia’s offshore detention facilities through discussions, workshops, publications and exhibitions.
The statement continues: “Our withdrawal is one action in a multiplicity of others, already enacted and soon to be carried out in and around the Biennale. We do not propose to know the exact ethical, strategic or effective action to end mandatory detention, but we act on conscience and we act with hope.
“We withdraw to send a message to the Biennale urging them, again, to act ethically and transparently. To send a message to Transfield that we will not add value to their brand and its inhumane enterprise. Finally, and most importantly, we withdraw to send a message to the Australian Government that we do not accept their unethical policy against asylum seekers.”
In response to the artists’ withdrawal, a statement from Sydney Biennale said: “The Biennale, in discussion with the Working Group some weeks ago, said we would support artists who wanted to use the event as a platform to express their views. We also gave our assurance to respect any decision artists made to withdraw from the exhibition.
“We have been in contact with the artists who are withdrawing since the weekend and understand their reasons for doing so. While disappointed these four works will not be shown in the Biennale, we will continue to work in these final weeks to install more than 200 works for the exhibition to allow the public to engage with what promises to be a tremendous Biennale.”
This year’s biennale, which opens 21 March, features over 90 international artists, including many from Britain. Among the 41 signatories to the original open letter demanding that the Biennale sever its links with Transfield were the artists Martin Boyce, Corin Sworn, Eva Rothschild, Emily Wardill, Nathan Coley, Yael Bartana and Rosa Barba.
Read the full statement of withdrawal here
Read the open letter to the board here
