What the Birds Knew

Ken and Julia Yonetani

3 August - 3 November 2012

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  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, Radioactive from Electric Dreams (2012) Uranium glass and UV lights. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London. Photography: Zan Wimberley
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, Electric Dreams from Electric Dreams (2012) Uranium glass and UV lights. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London. Photography: Zan Wimberley
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, Meltdown from Electric Dreams (2012) Uranium glass and UV lights. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London. Photography: Zan Wimberley
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, What the Birds Knew (2012), Uranium glass beads, aluminium wire, UV lights. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London. Photography: Zan Wimberley
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, What the Birds Knew (2012), Uranium glass beads, aluminium wire, UV lights. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London. Photography: Zan Wimberley
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, USA from Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All, Nuclear Nations (2012), Chandelier frames, UV lights, electric components and uranium glass beads. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London. Photography: Zan Wimberley
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, USA from Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All, Nuclear Nations (2012), Chandelier frames, UV lights, electric components and uranium glass beads. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London. Photography: Zan Wimberley
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, What the Birds Knew (2012), production still, Uranium glass beads, aluminium wire, and UV lights. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London.
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, What the Birds Knew (2012), production still, Uranium glass beads, aluminium wire, and UV lights. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London.
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, What the Birds Knew (2012), production still, Uranium glass beads, aluminium wire, and UV lights. Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London.
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, What the Birds Knew (2012), Uranium glass beads, aluminium wire, and UV lights Courtesy of the artists, Artereal Gallery, Sydney and GV Art, London.
  • 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, What The Birds Knew (2012). Photography: Zan Wimberley
  • 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, What The Birds Knew (2012). Photography: Zan Wimberley
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nuclear Nations (Japan), 2012, metal, UV lighting, Uranium Glass, photo courtesy of the artists, GV Art, London and Artereal Gallery, Sydney
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nuclear Nations (Japan), 2012, metal, UV lighting, Uranium Glass, photo courtesy of the artists, GV Art, London and Artereal Gallery, Sydney
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nuclear Nations (Japan), 2012, metal, UV lighting, Uranium Glass, photo courtesy of the artists, GV Art, London and Artereal Gallery, Sydney
  • Ken + Julia Yonetani, Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nuclear Nations (Japan), 2012, metal, UV lighting, Uranium Glass, photo courtesy of the artists, GV Art, London and Artereal Gallery, Sydney
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What the Birds Knew features new large  scale works by internationally renowned Australian artists Ken + Julia Yonetani.

What the Birds Knew includes new sculptural works made from radioactive uranium glass. A 6-metre long green ant will threateningly loom over visitors to the gallery, and a large scale chandelier will be visible 24 hours a day. The use of UV lights will make the uranium glow green, giving the works an ominous energy.

These new visually stunning and highly provocative works arise out of the artists’ concerns over the recent nuclear tragedy in Fukushima. The title of the exhibition refers to the alternative title for Akira Kurosawa’s 1955 post-war film I Live in Fear, in which the central character declares that the birds would flee if they knew of the impending environmental threats.

What the Birds Knew reflects shared cultural expressions of environmental anxieties within Indigenous Australian and Japanese culture, and whether these function as either warnings or premonitions.

Ken and Julia Yonetani have exhibited widely in Australia and internationally. Ken Yonetani represented Australia at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009, and Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art (SA) in 2008. Together they have exhibited at GV Art (London), Kone Foundation (Finland), NKV (Germany), Artereal Gallery (NSW), Art Gallery of New South Wales (NSW), Campbelltown Arts Centre (NSW), La Trobe University Museum of Art (VIC), Object Gallery (NSW), Gold Coast City Gallery (QLD), Jan Manton Art (QLD), and Rio Vista, Mildura (VIC).

 

 

FURTHER INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

 

VIDEO INTERVIEWS

 

MEDIA COVERAGE

ABC News
view here

Sydney Morning Herald/Sun Herald
by Andrew Taylor
read here
view SMH online gallery

The Diary, Sydney Morning Herald
by Scott Ellis
read here

Metro, Sydney Morning Herald
by Andrew Frost
read here

The Australian
by Bridget Cormack
read here

Time Out Sydney, Critics Pick
by Darryn King
read here

the art life blog
by Carrie Miller
read here

Australia Council Artery Blog
by Alex Bellemore
read here

The Thousands
by Bethany Small
read here

Concrete Playground
by Zacha Rosen
read here

Daily Serving
by Luise Guest
read here

 

 

 

 

 


What the Birds Knew is supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW.

The artists are supported by The NSW Artists’ Grant. The NSW Artists’ Grant is a NAVA initiative, made possible through the support of Arts NSW and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.