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For immediate release
Monday 27 August 2007

MEDIA RELEASE

Sun, sand, surf and cells. Bondi Beach gets the latest international contemporary art as Kaldor Art Projects presents Gregor Schneider's BONDI BEACH / 21 BEACH CELLS, opening 28 September.

Australia's favourite icon becomes `an art space' between Friday 28 September and Sunday 21 October 2007 with a new site-specific installation from one the hottest contemporary artists in the world - Gregor Schneider.

BONDI BEACH / 21 BEACH CELLS is a free-standing work comprising of 21 identical cells measuring 4m x 4m, constructed of typical Australian fencing, with each containing amenities for visitors such as an air mattress, beach umbrella and garbage bag.

"The work brings into question the values that we associate with the sun, surf and sand image of the Australian beach," says John Kaldor of Kaldor Art Projects. "Australian beach culture has been traditionally associated with a relaxed, egalitarian society at leisure."

"Gregor Schneider's work is being presented to Australians and asks them to consider the fundamental openness of Australian society, the freedoms and liberties we enjoy as citizens and the larger global picture what is happening in the world around us. It expresses the concerns and anxieties of today's world."

"BONDI BEACH / 21 BEACH CELLS can be seen as contradictory: on the one hand, the cells are open and contain a lilo and umbrella - all the comforts of beach enjoyment, but as cells, they potentially enclose beach space and evoke dark associations of detention centres and disharmony. Importantly, the cells don't force us to enter, we can choose to take advantage of the cell's facilities."

"The cells will divide groups of people enjoying the beach, with each individual exposed and confined, their private space on view to all those around them. The seemingly innocuous compartmentalised cells will contradict their relaxed, costal surroundings. Schneider's work is designed to open a wider debate on current issues surrounding freedom - immigration, terrorism and asylum."

Gregor Schneider is an exciting young German artist who, in representing Germany, won the coveted Golden Lion Award at the 2001 Venice Biennale and has exhibited in many prestigious organisations all around the world. Known for his architectural creations, he lives and works in Rheydt, Germany. Among his best-known projects is Dead House, commissioned by Artangel, which was on show in 2004 in London's East End.

Kaldor Art Projects (KAP) is a charitable organisation passionate about making contemporary art available for all the Australian public to experience. This project sees KAP return to Sydney's magnificent coastline almost 40 years after Christo & Jean-Claude created Wrapped Coast Little Bay, Sydney in 1969, which became the first Kaldor Art Project.

Since then KAP has brought the work of leading contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons, Sol LeWitt, Gilbert & George, Barry McGee and Urs Fischer to Australia. These influential art projects have played an important role in bringing groundbreaking trends to the Australian public and changed the understanding of contemporary art in Australia.

www.kaldorartprojects.org.au

previous photo next photo Media release: BONDI BEACH, 21 BEACH CELLS,
Kaldor Art Projects, Bondi Beach, Sydney 28.09.2007-21.10.2007