NGV Triennial 2023

The NGV Triennial returns for a four-month celebration of global contemporary art on Sunday December 3, 2023. Bringing together nearly 100 projects by over 120 artists, and spanning all four levels of the NGV International, the exhibition captures the best in contemporary art, design and architecture from around the world.

The line-up includes some huge names, with counter-cultural icon Yoko Ono presenting a large-scale work on the facade of the NGV International building; David Shrigley exhibiting his monumental public sculpture Really Good (originally conceived for the Fourth Plinth at London’s Trafalgar Square in 2016); and British artist Tracey Emin displaying a selection of works recently acquired by the NGV, including a five-metre-high neon handwriting installation.

And Emin isn’t the only artist dabbling in bronze. Wurundjeri artist Aunty Kim Wandin has created an eight-metre-long bronze eel trap, installed in the moat of the NGV International and visible to the public 24/7 during the Triennial. The giant sculpture is a tribute to the history of Wurundjeri women, their weaving traditions, and their relationship with the iuk (short-finned eel).

As always, the NGV Triennial line-up includes artists from all over the world. American-born, Paris-based Sculptor Sheila Hicks presents her colourful fibre installation Nowhere to Go (2022); Kosovan artist Petrit Halilaj creates a new iteration of his highly personal immersive installation Very volcanic over this green feather (2022); Ukrainian artist Ihor Okuniev presents a haunting 20-minute sound work; and Chinese artist Lin Fanglu draws on the Bai people’s ancient tie-dyeing techniques with a large-scale textile sculpture.

And speaking of textiles, Mun-dirra is an enormous woven fish produced over two years by 13 women artists (and three apprentices) in Maningrida, Arnhem land, hailing from the Burarra language group and who specialise in customary weaving. This immersive installation is made up of 10 segments and represents two common types of fish traps produced in the area, telling the stories of matrilineal knowledge transfer and the sustainable traditions of many generations of Burarra people.

A major inclusion this year is the largest project to date by Iranian–Australian artist Hoda Ashfar. Taking cues from the French psychiatrist and photographer Gaetan Gatian de Clerambault, The Fold (2023) continues Ashfar’s exploration into the history of the photographic medium and its role in colonial projects and representations of Islamic women around the world.

There is also Megacities, a large-scale photography project which saw 10 leading street photographers capture megacities around the world: Cairo, Dhaka, Jakarta, Delhi, Sao Paolo, Shanghai, Seoul, Lagos, Tokyo and Mexico City. The result is an immersive photographic display of urban lifestyles and phenomena from all over the globe.

Never short of fashion inspiration, this year’s NGV Triennial also includes a special collaboration with Paris haute couture house Schiaparelli, with eight looks from recent collections hand-picked by artistic director Daniel Roseberry and displayed in a spellbinding, celestial setting.

Other artists on the jam-packed bill include collaborative duo Elmgreen and Dragset (Germany); Polish-born, US-based artist Agnieszka Pilat; Tokyo-based artist Azuma Makoto; British sculptor Thomas J. Price; London-via-Mexico designer Fernando Laposse’s most ambitious project to date; and many, many more.

Kids are looked after too, with the NGV Kids gallery transformed into an underwater world by French artist Jean Julien. Inspired by French coastal areas, kids are invited to dress up in fish costumes created by Julien, explore the interactive exhibition space, take part in activities inspired by beach cleaning, and draw aquatic-themed creations of their own.

The NGV Triennial is free to visit during the NGV International’s usual opening hours, 10am to 5pm daily.

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