Raman Ondak, Measuring the Universe, 2007
Performance at MoMA, New York, 2009. Courtesy the artist and Collection MoMA, New York. Photo © MoMA, New York
For those who visited the bustling 13 Rooms art project in April, you will no doubt remember Roman Ondak’s Swap; an art-meets-social-experiment activity that involved entering a room full of strangers, offering up a personal item of value, and then negotiating a barter exchange with your newfound friends. We all went home with possessions that once belonged to another; some real steals and some things we ditched the moment we exited the exhibition.
So, in the spirit of the festive season, sharing and gift-giving, try your hand at swindling treasures from other people at Swap!
From 10 January to 24 January 2014, Ondak returns once again to present a trio of participatory works at Parramatta Town Hall in Western Sydney – thanks to Kaldor Public Art Projects. Taking the most simple elements of everyday life and repositioning them in a new settings, Ondak surprises our expectations and perspectives. His work reveals the nature of human interaction – the rituals, often humourous, and the forms of exchange and social codes we all live by.
So, in the spirit of the festive season, sharing and gift-giving, head on over to Parramatta Town Hall and try your hand at swindling treasures from other people at Swap! Have your height scribbled on the gallery wall and your presence recorded in Measuring the Universe, or experience the inaugural Terrace; a new work made especially for this exhibition.
