24th Biennale of Sydney
For Artforum, Toni Ross reviews the 24th Biennale of Sydney, curated by Cosmin Costinaş and Inti Guerrero, highlighting Cristina Flores Pescorán’s Abrazar el sol (Embrace the Sun) (2023–24) as a meditative presence within the newly opened White Bay Power Station. The Peruvian artist’s loopy, netlike weaving in natural fiber offers a moment of refuge among the former power station’s heavy-duty pipes and towering industrial structures, creating a striking contrast between the delicacy of the work and the building’s monumental scale.
Flores Pescorán’s work is situated within the Biennale’s broader emphasis on First Nations and Indigenous perspectives, as well as the survival and revival of traditional skills and cultural idioms from previously colonized communities. Ross notes how handcrafted works throughout the exhibition affirm these practices, positioning Flores Pescorán’s weaving within a wider exploration of ancestral techniques and their continued relevance in contemporary art.
Excerpted words written by Toni Ross for ArtForum.
