On Friday 24 August the Inaugural Exhibition at the Concordia Gallery, Dacchi Dang: Artist as Explorer, officially opened to a crowd drawn from all cross sections of the Newington College community. Dang’s work, inspired by his own experiences as a Vietnamese asylum seeker, featured a combination of photography, video and installation art across four different spaces. Dealing with an intrinsically controversial subject matter, the decision to host Dang’s work as the inaugural exhibition was a bold one and indicative of College’s commitment to producing real and tangible debate on the important issues facing our society.

The exhibition was opened on the night with speeches from Nick Vickers, Coordinator of Alumni Relations at the UNSW College of Fine Arts, and Professor Patricia Hoffie, Dang’s own mentor from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University. Afterwards, Dang himself spoke a few words, telling of his own inspirations behind the exhibition and the journey that led him to Newington College in 2012.

Those who witnessed the exhibition will speak of its telling imagery and considered comparisons between bustling Saigon and the modern Australian cityscape. This artistic analysis was complemented by his series of black and white photographs depicting the multiple points of view of an Australian refugee processing centre. In showing perspectives from both the side of Australian officials and the refugees themselves, Dang has been able to bring meaning and emotion to what has become such a polarised national debate.

However, perhaps the most thought provoking piece was Dang’s shelter installation, where an audio loop broadcasting numbers in Vietnamese boomed over a makeshift ‘shelter’ for refugees made from old and empty bags of rice sewn together. The artwork was meant to reflect Dang’s own experience waiting for his number to be called to be put onto a boat bound for Australia. Few can deny the incredible individual journey of Dacchi Dang, who will soon complete his Doctorate in Philosophy at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

The event’s organisers, particularly the Head of Visual Arts Mr Andrew Thompson, must be congratulated on bringing this inspiring exhibition to the Newington College community. Now, the Concordia Gallery looks forward to its next exhibition—149: Watching Time Take Form. The exhibition, which opens Wednesday 5 September and runs until Saturday 15 September, and promises to be an artistic reinterpretation of Newington’s own archival objects on the eve of our Sesquicentenary celebrations.

Pictured above (L-R): Andrew Thompson, Dacchi Dang, Nick Vickers and Patricia Hoffie. Below: a photo gallery from the opening evening.

Alex Fleming
Online Media