Melbourne: the NGV Triennial EXTRA festival returns
James Banham
Art lovers rejoice! The National Gallery of Victoria’s Triennial EXTRA, its free late-night festival, returns in 2021 featuring a program stacked with live performances, DJs, dan ce, food, pop-up bars and after-hours access to the NGV Triennial exhibition, launching Friday 15 January and running nightly until 14 February.
Here are some highlights to add to the diary.
AS SHE FLOATS BY SCOTTY SO – Tue-Sun, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Exhibiting NGV Triennial artist Scotty So appears across the Ground Level of NGV International silently lip syncing a Chinese Opera inspired by the myth of the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e. Dressed in a holographic Tang dynasty style Hanfu robe with hair and makeup styled after the traditional images of the moon goddess, So performs as an offering to the spirits of the space.
SCARLETT NIGHT BY SCOTTY SO –Tue-Sun, 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Scarlett So Hung So, artist Scotty So’s drag persona, takes visitors on a journey through time in Adam Nathaniel Furman and Sibling Architecture’s NGV Triennial installation Boudoir Babylon 2020, paying homage to Japanese actress and singer Yoshiko Yamaguchi, 60s songstress Rebecca Pan, Greek diva Maria Callas and Australia’s queen of pop Kylie Minogue.
OPENING WEEKEND DJS – 15, 16 & 17 Jan, 6.00 pm – 9.00 pm – Setting the scene on the Forecourt and in the Garden, local DJs performing during EXTRA’s opening weekend include emerging talent Millú; local nightlife mainstay Andee Frost; disco, funk and electronic specialist Edd Fisher; and multifaceted classical house DJ and curator Merve.
JEFF KOONS ON ICE BY HAMISH MCINTOSH – Mon, Wed & Fri, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm & 7.00 pm – 8.00 pm – Emerging choreographer Hamish McIntosh presents a response to Jeff Koons’s 1998 sculpture titled Pink Panther. Paired with Koons’ mirror-polished, stainless steel NGV Triennial sculpture Venus 2016-20, McIntosh reframes the US artist’s creative genius through the durational embrace of two young female dancers.
LUCENT BY NAREE VACHANANDA – Mon, Wed & Fri, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Naree Vachananda explores the classic Japanese Noh theatre in a choreographed performance titled Lucent. The presentation draws upon connections between Noh theatre and Cerith Wyn Evans’s NGV Triennial light work C=O=D=A 2020 with dancers creating an arc of movement with their bodies to interpret the complex forms of Wyn Evans’ white neon sculpture.
SPOTLIGHT ON SHADOWS BY SHINJITA ROY – Mon, Wed & Fri, 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm & 8:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Choreographed by Shinjita Roy, Spotlight onShadows combines Kathak, one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance, and the Salon et lumière 2020 installation, a digital recreation of the NGV’s British and European 19th century art Salon Hang. The presentation features dancers negotiating the space between light and shadows.
Triennial EXTRA runs 15 January – 14 February 2021 and NGV Triennial runs until 18 April 2021 at NGV International, St Kilda Road, Melbourne. Free entry, booking required. Further information is available via the NGV website.