William Yang: Shadows

William Yang has a deceptively simple approach to performance. A noted photographer from Australia, he relies on a slide show to tell his stories. But don't be fooled; this is not just a visual tour through Yang's favorite images. Employing 800 different slides, six projectors, two double screens, and live music by composer Colin Offord, Yang has a complex global narrative to share, one which draws upon the notion of reconciliation by linking the condition of the Aborigines with the history of the wartime persecution experienced by Germans in South Australia, and finishing up in Berlin in the early 1980s, a few years before the wall came down. Division, fear, ignorance, discrimination, acceptance, and tolerance are recurrent themes, underscoring Yang's belief that in order to move forward we must confront the darkest parts of history. The artist is an adept guide who gracefully weaves images and words, and his work has been well received in several international festivals.
March 12-13, 8 p.m., 2008