Work by Misheck Masamvu will be included in the 22nd Biennale of Sydney (14 March - 8 June). The biennale’s theme, 'NIRIN', is an indigenous word belonging to the Wiradjuri people of western New South Wales meaning edge and “expresses dynamic existing and ancient practices,” according to the artistic director Brook Andrew. Seven themes inspire NIRIN: Dhaagun (‘earth’: sovereignty and working together); Bagaray-Bang (‘healing’); Yirawy-Dhuray (‘yam-connection’: food); Gurray (‘transformation’); Muriguwal Giiland (‘different stories’); Ngawal-Guyungan (‘powerful ideas’: the power of objects); and Bila (‘river’: environment).
Andrew says, “The urgent states of our contemporary lives are laden with unresolved past anxieties and hidden layers of the supernatural. NIRIN (edge) is about to expose this, demonstrating that artists and creatives have the power to resolve, heal, dismember and imagine futures of transformation for re-setting the world. Sovereignty is at the centre of these actions. I hope that NIRIN gathers life forces of integrity to push through often impenetrable noise.”
