Questions around documentary practice have long centred on a battle between representation and meaning over sensation. This exhibition seeks to rethink the parameters of documentary by examining practices that critique ideas concerning witness, truth and account, whilst also challenging the idea that documentary itself is inherently biased and politically dodgy.
In Spite of Ourselves: Approaching Documentary will offer new ways to read, understand and interpret documentary practices. Artists range from established iconic local figures such as Ans Westra, Jae Hoon Lee, Ann Shelton, Darcy Lange, Sophia Al-Maria, Shigera Takato, Haru Sameshima, Mark Adams, Vandy Rattana, John Lake, David Cook, Sarah Murphy, Janet Lilo, Rebecca Ann Hobbs, Walid Raad, Louisa Aofa. The exhibitoin is curated by Fiona Amundsen, Dieneke Jansen and Vera Mey.
Through an inter-generational approach more emerging practices are also represented. The included works stretch notions of documentary and the document through photography, video and sound.
