This year marked the launch of China Residencies’ “Two to Three 二到三” program, which sends three Australian artists on funded residencies to partner organizations in second and third tier cities in China.
We are proud to announce the three artists chosen for this year’s program: Iain Bonner, Jason Hendrik Hansma, and Astra Howard. Jason will be attending the Organhaus residency in Chongqing, Iain will be attending the TCG Nordica residency in Kunming, and Astra will be attending the Chinese European Art Center (CEAC) residency in Xiamen. The artists selected for this opportunity will draw on their past experiences in China to conceive of original endeavors, research, and works as they inhabit a new creative environment.
Iain Bonner (b. 1979)
Iain is a filmmaker and video artist based in Melbourne, Australia. He received his Masters of Film from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in Melbourne. His work has been screened in Australia, India, South Korea, and the U.S. He lived in Beijing for a year in 2010 to learn Chinese, as well as practice photojournalism and experimental videography. On residency, he intends to create a multichannel audio-visual installation inspired by Kunming’s natural mountainous environment, and the symbolic death and rebirth of the self.
“One of the things I’ve noticed in my travels is a special energy that comes from mountainous regions. I would like to look at the ever-stable presence of the mountain, how that relates to the culture around it, and the turbulent, transforming nature of the self.”
See Iain’s work at https://vimeo.com/iainbonner
Jason Hendrik Hansma (b. 1988)
Jason is an Australian/Dutch artist born in Lahore, Pakistan. He received his Master in Fine Arts from the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Jason’s practice includes photography, film, installations, sculpture and writing. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Australia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Thailand. Jason spent five years of his childhood living in the Golden Triangle of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and southern China. On residency in Chongqing, he will be exploring the idea of prehistory, and the building blocks of material and culture, through photography, film and objects.
“China situates itself within the strange place of memory and slippage, of rurality and cityscapes, of dynasties, individualism and collectivism, of the subtle and the boisterous, of outsourcing and craft.”
See Jason’s work at www.jasonhansma.com
Astra Howard (b. 1978)
Astra is a self-described Action Researcher/Performer who undertakes site responsive projects in city public spaces. Based in Sydney, Australia, Astra has a Bachelor of Design from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University and a PhD in Design from UNSW Art & Design. Since 1998, Astra has produced works in cities across Australia and internationally, in such locations as Beijing, Paris, New York, Delhi, Hanoi, Coventry and London. Astra first travelled to China as a visiting scholar at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2002 and then returned again to Beijing in 2012 to undertake a Red Gate Residency. In 2014, in association with the Chinese European Art Center, Astra intends to produce a new series of works that address idiosyncratic elements of the city experience in Xiamen.
“As a researcher of the city, I am fascinated by the speed at which China continues to develop and the impact which these rapidly growing second or third tier cities like Xiamen have on their people, the culture and environment."
See Astra's work at http://astrahoward.com
We are grateful to Australia Copyright Agency Cultural Fund for their generous support of this program.
