Sriwhana Spong: HA HA HA

About the event

Join us to celebrate the opening of Sriwhana Spong: HA HA HA at MUMA, the first Australian survey exhibition of London-based Balinese Aotearoa/New Zealand artist Sriwhana Spong.

The evening will begin with an artist talk by Sriwhana Spong at 5.30pm.

The exhibition will be officially opened by Professor Sharon Pickering, Vice-Chancellor and President, Monash University.

In a rare occasion the event will feature a performance of the Gamelan Digul. This instrument, seldom exhibited or played, was made by activist inmates in 1927 at the Dutch prison camp at Tanah Merah in the jungle on the Digul River, West Irian (now Papua New Guinea) and brought to Australia by the musicians where it is now cared for by the Music Archive of Monash University.

MUMA and Liquid Architecture will present a performance of Sriwhana Spong’s instrument sculptures. Musicians Sofia Carbonara, Tarquin Manek, Rama Parwata and Lachlan Anderson respond to Spong’s instrument sculptures which form an evolving personal gamelan. The musicians, who are recognised for their mastery of percussive instrumentation, will create an improvised performance of the sculptures within the gallery.

What to expect

5.30pm – Artist talk by Sriwhana Spong

6pm – Gamelan Digul performance, followed by official proceedings and a performance of Spong’s instruments presented by MUMA and Liquid Architecture.

Plan your visit

Acknowledgements

Presenting partner

Supported by

_{This project is supported by Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa and the Henry Moore Foundation.}

_{Image: Sriwhana Spong, video still, AD, 2026, 16mm film transferred to digital video, sound. Commissioned by Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne and Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery, Wellington. Image courtesy of the artist and Lett Thomas, Auckland; Sriwhana Spong, The painter-tailor, 2019}