ABSTRACT
The operations of cultural translation continue to run throughout the Asia Pacific Triennial (APT), generating meaning through the interpretive processes that take place across multiple boundaries. This potential of cross-cultural interaction to create small transformations on both sides continues to inform the project. The development of contemporary Asian art into its own transnational category has been assisted by the growth throughout the 1990s and 2000s of such networks. The emergence of numerous biennials, art museums, auctions, and art fairs, particularly in East and South East Asia, has been supported by rapid increases in wealth, mobility, and access to communication technologies. A primary objective of the early APT exhibitions was to break down assumptions that Asia was homogeneous. Locality, cultural identity and specific histories were key focuses. The emphasis in recent art on provisionality, narrative, and self- reflexivity finds expression in an increasing presence in the APT of screen-based art: large-scale video installations, immersive environments, and cinema.
