Canberra Art Biennial at NFSA Acton

Photography by: Kevin Miller

Exhibition, screenings and special events 

Celebrate Canberra Art Biennial at NFSA Acton with a striking new commission from contemporary Australian artist Bronte Cormican-Jones and a curated program of screenings and special events. 

Exhibiting until 26 October, Of line, of light responds to the surrounding NFSA, Shine Dome and Ovolo Nishi Hotel structures. Acting at once as a collection of two-dimensional drawings in space, and three-dimensional sculptures, the work shifts from different perspectives. Steel elements act as sculptural frameworks for neon lighting, which comes alive at night.  

Cormican-Jones’ installations respond to the architecture of their locations, and the formal considerations of shape, line, intersection, space and perception. To the viewer in motion, the frames in Of line, of light sit adjacent before intersecting, cutting into new spaces, and opening the field of vision to the world outside the rectangle. This luminous work offers moments of contemplation, moments of pause, and visual play. Learn more 

The NFSA enriches and complements Of line, of light with special screenings of sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) and critically acclaimed cyberpunk Ghost in the Shell (Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii, 1995). The NFSA will also host a free panel conversation on light and architecture and an inclusive movement workshop, both of which extend and explore the themes of Cormican-Jones’ work.  

Presented in collaboration with Canberra Art Biennial and Canberra Glassworks.  

Metropolis (35mm, 1927)

Saturday 5 October, 7pm

Fritz Lang’s silent science-fiction masterpiece explores class divides in the utopian city of Metropolis, stunningly realised in Art Deco and Bauhaus detail. Bronte Cormican-Jones and NFSA’s Aidan Delaney will introduce this 2010 restoration screening and its connections to Of line, of light.  

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Panel: On Light and Architecture

Sunday 6 October, 3pm | Free event

Contemporary artist Bronte Cormican-Jones leads a panel conversation on light and architecture, bringing together neon, fine art, architecture and set design perspectives. Panellists include neon expert David Cooper and architect Savita Gaonkar. 

The panel conversation will be moderated by Chris Mercer, NFSA Chief Experience Officer. 

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Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Saturday 12 October, 7pm

Based on the manga by Masamune Shirow, this critically acclaimed international co-production explores what it truly means to possess a ‘ghost’ – a soul – in a world where the lines between human and machine are increasingly blurred.  Bronte Cormican-Jones and NFSA’s Aidan Delaney will introduce this special screening and its connections to Of line, of light.  

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Body / Building Workshop

Sunday 13 October, 11am | Free event

An inclusive movement workshop which works on the basis of moving outside the ‘habitual body’, inspired by Japanese movement practice, experimental performance art scores and relational artworks.  

Register