SYDNEY.- NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall announced two extraordinary exhibitions exclusive to Sydney for the tenth iteration of the Sydney International Art Series in 2019-20: the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia will present a major retrospective of British artist Cornelia Parker, encompassing works across three decades, while the Art Gallery of New South Wales will present Japan supernatural, an immersive, multi-sensory exhibition of more than 200 works of Japanese art.

“The NSW Government is bringing world-class exhibitions to Sydney, strengthening our city’s position as a leading cultural destination and contributing to our goal of tripling overnight visitor expenditure by 2030,” Mr Marshall said.

“I’m delighted our prized cultural institutions will have the opportunity to showcase what will be two standout exhibitions exclusively for Sydney that are expected to attract over 220,000 attendees.”

British artist Cornelia Parker, OBE and Royal Academician (born 1956), is well known for her transformation of everyday objects into unexpected, haunting scenarios – things are exploded, shot, turned back to front, and rearranged in often surprising ways. Working with sculpture and installation, as well as drawing, photography and film, Parker positions her subjects at the very moment of their transformation, suspended in time and completely still.

Parker was elected to the Royal Academy of Art, London, and made a member of the Order of the British Empire in 2010. She was elected the Apollo Awards Artist of the Year in 2016, and the following year, awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester. In 2017 she was appointed as the first female Election Artist for the United Kingdom General Election. In this highly visible role, she observed the election campaign leading up to the 8 June vote, met with campaigners and voters, and produced art works in response.

This survey exhibition at MCA Australia is a world first, and the premiere opportunity for Australians as well as international visitors to engage in depth with this acclaimed artist’s work.

The landmark exhibition, curated by MCA Chief Curator Rachel Kent in close collaboration with the artist, will feature over 40 artworks including large-scale installations, embroideries, works on paper, video works, and a selection of small scale sculptures and objects from across the artist’s career.

Museum of Contemporary Art Director, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE, said, “We are thrilled to be working with British artist Cornelia Parker, whose installations and sculptures have fascinated audiences wherever they have been shown. Her blown-up shed, Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View, is regularly named the favourite work of Tate visitors in London. This is the first time Australian audiences will have the opportunity to see a major show of one of the most important women artists working today. She even numbers previous SIAS artist Yoko Ono among her admirers.”

Exhibition highlights include six major installation works including Thirty Pieces of Silver (1988–9), Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View (1991), Magna Carta (An Embroidery) (2015) and War Room (2015). Alongside these major pieces will be a selection of works the artist created during her appointment as the 2017 Election Artist for the UK General Election, as well as her Avoided Object series of smaller scale works, in which the artist has transformed everyday objects through processes of burning, squashing and flattening.

The MCA would also like to acknowledge the generous support of Catriona and Simon Mordant AM as Principal Exhibition Patrons of its Sydney International Art Series exhibitions.

Cornelia Parker will show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia from 8 November 2019 to 16 February 2020.

Japan supernatural will show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 2 November 2019 to 8 March 2020.