Curatorial Brief
Territory Time
Siying Zhou
Territory Time is an abbreviation for life in the Northern Territory. It’s a modus operandi for the way people live every day. It draws a boundary of daily achievements. As a result, Territory Time becomes an attitude towards life held by Territory dwellers and a philosophy for surviving difficult conditions.
Territory Time like the puppet mans’ hands, controls people’s lives in Northern Territory. It schedules everything into its own timetable. In Darwin, the capital city of Northern Territory, people come to understand that many things can only be done in line with the seasons. During the ‘build-up’, which is the season between the dry and the wet starting around September, and finishing in January, the pace of life slows down dramatically. The desert region of Alice Springs too, has its unique timetable. One that exits for the town centre, and a ‘timeless time’ that exits only ten minutes drive away, in the open expanse of the ancient desert landscape; again a slowing down and giving over.
“Not today, not tomorrow”. A social norm and constant reminder, that defines tomorrow (and time), as either the day after today, the day after tomorrow, or someday in the next week… or never. The isolation of the Northern Territory, the lack of many materials and the time involved in product transit gives this Territory timetable an uncertainty… a time of waiting.
In this Territory time zone, there are many dangers: dangers from nature and dangers from mankind. A great amount of effort goes into simply surviving the extreme climate. Underneath the breathtaking landscape and scenery, there is disease, mould, bacterial, and fungal life forms, as well as life threatening animals, all specific to the Territory. And of the human form, the two major cities in Northern Territory, Darwin and Alice Springs have the highest crime rates in the country; speeding, drink driving, drunken fights gone wrong and extreme violence, make up almost every front page headline of the NT News… with the exception of crocodiles.
The economy of Territory time is a time driven by the maintenance of an idea of the ‘Dreaming Land’. The easy going tropical lifestyle, yet in Darwin, with house prices and rent rates the highest in the country, living costs in the NT becomes, the cost of living. For art, it translates as an art market driven solely by the commercial aboriginal art market, generating a huge income to the NT economy and receiving the bulk of support and national attention.
Territory Time denies the ‘Dream Land’ mythology, and ‘Tropical Paradise’ rhetoric, created for tourism and economic purpose. It silently and persistently reveals its true nature to the people who choose to live their life in the Northern Territory.
Artists in Territory Time
Territory time has challenged and nurtured artists with its dilemmas and ironies. Just like the rest of the population of the NT, artists experience the rawness of nature and must fit their timetable into its elastic time. They go through the process of observing, becoming annoyed, fighting against and eventually adapting themselves into its pattern in order to survive.
NT artists have to cope with a far more risky and challenging environment than ever before. They constantly face the risk of losing their residence and studios. If they do not fit into this Territory ‘Land of Dreaming’ art market, they also risk their livelihoods as well.
But it appears, No Risk is Too Great.
Exhibiting art works by six young NT artists, this exhibition explores their interpretations of the idea of Territory time. With each artist’s individual experience of surviving current Territory time, this exhibition intends to question the ‘Dream Time’ in a ‘Dream Land’ image of the NT, and attempts to tell another truth behind the myths of this time zone.