  Tobias is a prolific artist and he took full advantage of the opportunities presented by the residency. He worked often day and night, producing a huge variety of works. While many of the series of drawings and paintings were not exhibited in Malaysia, the residency did culminate in two very different exhibitions.
At Galeri Petronas, there was a formal showing of his works titled "Slippage: Built Environment". Tobias sourced local and everyday materials to create a series of complex sculptural works and intimate drawings. The result is a reflection and response on the built environment in Malaysia, particularly Kuala Lumpur. Wooden chopsticks and skewers made up his sculptures, forming imaginary scaffolding, buildings that are empty of life. Laced into the buildings were toy models, objects constructed from woodcraft kits, building a sense of indefinable yet playful narratives. Also exhibited were a series of drawings, executed in simple coloured markers on plain brown envelopes, revealing repetitive images of the seemingly endless, rising condominiums. Tobias aimed to place his observation in the slippage – that instance of slipping from a stable or desired position. The works are models reminiscent and suggestive of something bigger, a memory of the future. At the Lost Generation Artspace, Tobias was involved in BANGUN The Abandoned Project, an exhibition of 27 artists in a group of abandoned buildings next door to Lost Generation. Extending the sculptures he was working on at the Galeri Petronas and the shadows they were casting, he started to play with how they would work when they moved, and had light shining through them. This also became a video project.
  Kuala Lumpur is the capital and largest city of Malaysia. It is in the state of Selangor, and is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia. It is a multicultural city, with a mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian peoples. It is a centre for industry and of the fastest growing economy in Malaysia. It also has a large financial and service centre, and is a centre for health and education in the region. It is a popular destination for tourists, with its cosmopolitan atmosphere, abundant shopping opportunties and startling architecture. Kuala Lumpur is also a hub for arts and cultural activities.
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  Tobias - Presentation (8'03)
Tobias gives a talk at the opening of his exhibition "Slippage: Built Environments" at the Galeri Petronas.
Anurendra Jegadeva - Extended Interview (12'33)
Anurendra Jegadeva, Senior Curator at the Galeri Petronas, talks about Asia Link, the Artist-in-Residence program, and Tobias.
Tobias - Exhibition (8'03)
Tengku Nasariah, Director of the Galeri Petronas, talks about Tobias and his exhibition.
 Tobias Richardson is a Sydney-born, now Darwin-based visual artist. He has been practising art and exhibiting widely throughout Australia for over 20 years. First studying at the National Art School [Sydney], he later gained a BVA at the San Francisco Art Institute [CA, USA]. He has lived in the Northern Territory since 1997, teaching in remote Indigenous communities and most recently as Lecturer in Studio Practice at Charles Darwin University.
Tobias' art practice is very broad. For a number of years now he has been inspired by the built environment, exploring themes through installation, painting, drawing and sculpture, at times merging these forms together. Tobias’ work is created and conceived through physically interacting with materials, thinking about how they behave, the patterns they form, and their relationship to other materials and spaces. Tobias has been interested in Asia for many years, and for the last 10 years has been travelling there at least once a year, often to escape from Darwin’s long hot rainy season. He has often passed through Malaysia on his way to other places, but this was his first chance to stop and really immerse himself in life there.  Tobias’ residency had two parts. The first was his formal residency program at the Galeri Petronas, one Malaysia’s most important contemporary art galleries, located in Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers.
The other part was his accommodation and studio the Lost Generation Artspace. Lost Generation is an artist-run space in a leafy inner city suburb of Kuala Lumpur. It was here that Tobias worked at night and weekends, and made himself part of the vibrant scene based there – filled with visual artists, poets, musicians, activists and more.  Tobias found daily life in KL easy and enjoyable, and quickly immersed himself in the KL art scene. For an Australian artist, Malaysia has much to offer, as while it is different and exciting culturally, language is no barrier. So Tobias easily established meaningful relationships and networks with other artists, and was able to learn about the history, contemporary directions and issues surrounding art and its practice in Malaysia, as well as being inspired to make a huge body of work.
 The impact of Tobias’ residency has been wide ranging. An Asia Link residency offers a rare opportunity for artists to just concentrate on making work, and Tobias took full advantage of that opportunity. The inspiration of a new place and new rhythms of life was evident in the works he produced.
Beyond the artistic impacts were the personal ones. Tobias created networks with Malaysian artists from many different walks of life, learnt much about the contemporary Malaysian art scene, and he hopes to continue the exchanges he has begun during his time there. |
