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31/8/2012

Beyond the Last Sky

Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney

Images of the conflict in Israel/Palestine all too frequently make their way to our television screens, often relegating the voices of Palestinians to the sidelines. As the first exhibition of its kind presented to Australian audiences, Beyond the Last Sky is a showcase of the diversity of contemporary Palestinian art. Exploring the use of critical humour in photography and video, the exhibition offers a new articulation of Palestinian experience and identity.

The exhibition takes its name from the verse ‘where will the birds fly after the last sky’ in Mahmoud Darwish’s poem The Earth is Closing on Us and Edward Said’s book After the Last Sky from 1986. Looking beyond documentary modes, Beyond the Last Sky has been curated as the hypothetical evolution of Said’s book, revealing the capacity for humour to undermine stereotypes, facilitate understanding and explore notions of identity.

Artists include Taysir Batniji, Khaled Hourani, Larissa Sansour, Sharif Waked, Yazan Khalili, Khalil Rabah, Jackie Salloum and others.

Chrisoula Lionis is an arts writer and curator based in Sydney. She is currently a PhD candidate at the National Institute for Experimental Arts, College of Fine Arts, the University of New South Wales.

The Beyond the Last Sky exhibition has been created in partnership with the Australian Centre for Photography and the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales and is supported by Cultural Media.

AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
The Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) is a national centre of excellence in the exhibition, education and publication of photography. With four decades of experience, it is one of the longest running contemporary art spaces in Australia.
Established in 1973, ACP’s exhibitions and publications have played an important role in the development of Australian photography. ACP has a strong history of supporting emerging artists, with many becoming renowned photographic artists. ACP initiated the first major retrospectives of Max Dupain, Olive Cotton and Mervin Bishop, and organised exhibitions early in the careers of Bill Henson, Tracey Moffatt, William Yang and Trent Parke. ACP has also presented works by many acclaimed international photographers.

The Australian Centre for Photography gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the many organisations and individuals that make its programs possible.

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Beyond the Last Sky
Conference

Saturday 8 September 2012
WHERE: Sydney, Venue to be announced

WHO: Keynote Speaker - Khaled Hourani - Artist, Arts Writer and Curator - Arts Director of the International Academy of Art Palestine, Initiator of the Picasso in Palestine project

Beyond the Last Sky is a conference that will accompany an exhibition of the same title. The exhibition is dedicated to contemporary Palestinian photography/video work, and it will be the first of its kind in Australia. Seeking to tease out the issues that are represented in the exhibition, the conference takes its name from the verse ‘where will the birds fly after the last sky’ in Mahmoud Darwish’s poem The Earth is Closing on Us and Edward Said’s book After the Last Sky from 1986.

Thinking of the conference and exhibition as the evolution of Said’s book, one that sought to use documentary photography as a verification of Palestinian experience and existence, both events will explore how the use of critical humour in contemporary practice offers a new articulation of Palestinian experience and identity.

We are currently living through what might be described as a Palestinian cultural renaissance and although we have witnessed a rapid growth in the global profile of Palestinian arts, this has not yet been adequately represented in Australia. Given the UNESCO admission of Palestine as a member in 2011, the investigation of Palestinian culture, experience and identity must be recognized on Australian shores.

Sure to make participants question and engage, Beyond the Last Sky paves the way for a new insight into the political and cultural perspective and experience of Palestinians, revealing the capacity for humour to undermine stereotypes, facilitate understanding and explore notions of identity.

The conference is run by the National Institute for Experimental Arts and supported by the Australian Centre for Photography.

Image © Larissa Sansour, still from A Space Exodus, 2009. Courtesy the artist

MEDIA CONTACT
Tehmi Sukhla
Associate Director | Markets and Communications
E t.sukhla@acp.org.au
T +61 2 9332 0519
M +61 410 838 720

Australian Centre for Photography
257 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021 Australia
10am–5pm daily. Closed public holidays.
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