Day 78: Breaking News?

Only 5 days to go and I just received the following from the BoS, “Liam Gillick has decided to transform the lecture format of a public conference into a series of personal discussions with the audience over email and/or the telephone. If you would like to be included in Gillick’s new project of individual talks, I encourage you to authorise the Biennale to send the artist your name and direct contact information, if you have not already done so.”

Gillick was previously scheduled to actually meet the public, including drinking sessions at the pub, in a series of lectures called Relations of Equivalence: Three Potential Endings. I guess these have been cancelled, please confirm with the Biennale office and adjust your diaries if need be.

It seems likely that he is no longer is coming to Australia making remote “conversations” the only possibility. (This is pure conjecture on my part.) However, regardless of the reason for this “transformation” I find it a little troubling.

Can private tet a tets with a select few (I know how I made the list, but how does anyone else get on it??) really replace an event that was open to the public at large? Would it be more equitable to just cancel the whole idea? Or is elitism in art OK, just another manifestation of the status quo?

Or maybe I’ve got it all wrong and he’ll chat to all comers? Why not contact the BoS and see?

Tracey Clement is an artist and writer, who currently lives in Sydney. Some of her recent artwork can be seen at www.groundfloorgallery.com