In-Conversation: Contemporary Glass

UNSW Galleries is a venue for the 24th Biennale of Sydney, ‘Ten Thousand Suns', a major international contemporary art event.

This exhibition traces the development of the UNSW Art Collection through strategic purchases, major commissions, charitable donations, and notable gifts by artists and alumni.

When do I breathe? by artist Lauren Brincat is a public performance shaping new paths through the streets of Randwick, connecting communities in collaborative action. Connecting three sites of activation across UNSW Kensington and the hospital precinct, the performance will move through Randwick at sunset into twilight. Timed at the intersection between the end of a working day and the beginning of a working night, it brings together local communities that are often separated by different shifts and daily rhythms. Led by a group of dancers and held together with members of the NSW Collegium Musicum Choir and NIDA students and alumni, the performance will guide audiences on a journey of orchestrated harmonies. The artwork’s title, When do I breathe?, is inspired by the in-between breaths of the choir, and the composition reflects these sounds, sighs, pauses, breaks, rests, and moments of gathering before action. Movement and song will animate a series of fabric sculptures, including a 100m, handwoven cotton gauze, providing a connective thread between the performers and the broader community. The sculptures will also feature elements inspired by forms of nonverbal communication, such as silk tell-tales—to mark the way the wind blows—or knot tying—an ancient form of storing information. When do I breathe? is the result of a year-long engagement with local communities by the artist, offering an artistic response to the value of care in our society. A collective action as a form of resistance, the work aims to empower the community to come together and reclaim public space.