SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.-This September, a new large-scale interactive artwork by Gregor Schneider will be installed on Bondi Beach in Sydney, one of Australia’s favourite icons. The work, entitled Bondi Beach (2007), has been commissioned by Kaldor Art Projects, and will be on show throughout October 2007.

Gregor Schneider’s art expresses the concerns and anxieties of today’s world, and his latest work, Bondi Beach is no exception. All that is associated with Australia’s leisurely beach culture – surf, sand, sun and freedom – will be provocatively juxtaposed with Schneider’s enclosed, cubed cells.

On the surface, each of the twenty-one cells will be free for visitors to enjoy at their will, remaining unlocked. Each identical cell will house all comforts necessary to help you enjoy a day at the beach; a parasol, air mattress, paravent and garbage bag. Constructed with four transparent walls, and three doors, the cells will measure 4m by 4m in size. However the cells will divide groups of people enjoying the beach, exposing the individual as atomised, alienated and confined, their private space on view to all those around them. The seemingly innocuous compartmentalised cells will contradict their relaxed, coastal surroundings, inviting the audience to consider the fundamental openness of Australian society and the liberties enjoyed by its citizens. Schneider’s Bondi Beach is designed to open a wider debate on current issues surrounding freedom – immigration, terrorism and asylum.

Gregor Schneider (b. 1969) is known for his eerie art projects that explore the uncanny nature and history of the spaces we inhabit. He lives and works in Rheydt, Germany. In 2001, Schneider represented Germany at the Venice Biennale, winning the coveted Golden Lion Award. Recent projects include Dead House, commissioned by Artangel, which was on show in 2004 in London’s East End.

Bondi Beach is the latest commission by Kaldor Art Projects, which has presented major new works by leading international contemporary artists, free of charge, to the Australian public for nearly 40 years. KAP was established in 1969 by John Kaldor, who, in what was to become the first project, invited Christo and Jeanne-Claude to wrap part of Sydney’s coastline in erosion control mesh. Over the ensuing 38 years, KAP has invited groundbreaking contemporary artsits, including Gilbert & George, Jeff Koons, Richard Long and Sol LeWitt to realise unique site-specific projects all over Australia.

In spring 2007, Urs Fischer installed KAP’s latest commission on Cockatoo Island, the site of a former convict-built prison barracks. KAP was granted charitable status in 2003 in recognition of its long-term contribution to the cultural life of Australia.