Hello, my name is Maya and I am 12 years old. This is my review of the kids’ section at APT11, now on at QAGOMA. Reviews for kids should be by kids—and I think all kids should go see this show! There’s five sections downstairs just for you. For any grown-ups reading this, you really should bring your kids to the APT, because you too will find a lot to enjoy.
The first section by Rithika Merchant, If Seeds Chose Where to Grow (2024), is my favourite. This is an audio-visual interactive experience that really challenges the mind! The setting is a vast plain with mountains, clouds and a lake. At first glance nothing is moving, but that’s where kids come in! Your job is to move around blocks that somehow get projected onto the screen, bringing different plants and strange characters to life with special animation. A flower can grow into its shape, or a creature does a cartwheel, all because you move a block!
All the characters in Rithika Merchant’s world are unique and look and act differently from our reality: for example, one creature has a human body, the head of a bird, a very large beak, and is planting a flower. Another has a big eye for its head and a human body, but this body is full of stars like a galaxy. Meanwhile he holds a wheelbarrow full of sand that he pours out into the landscape. Giving life!
You feel like you are immersed in the scenery, and you can let your imagination run wild. There is nothing modern or really technological, it’s about plants and seeds and life. And in this universe, everything can co-exist harmoniously. Meteors fall, and somehow, it stays peaceful because the hybrid creatures can catch them in their bowls! I completely recommend this part of the exhibition. It’s fun and interactive, kids, you will never get bored. I was happy to see that Rithika Merchant’s creatures are on a big poster for the APT, her work is excellent!
The next section is Harold ‘Egn’ Eswar’s Monster of Wants (2024). For this section you create a monster that is made up of something that you want and deeply desire. Every kid receives a piece of blank paper and crayons so they can draw and colour their monster any way that they like, it is completely up to them. Some examples are “wings to reach the clouds” or “pizza body so will never get hungry” or “crayon arms to draw”—these three monsters look amazing!
It is interesting to look at all the different finished monsters, and to see that most of the ‘wants’ are innocent and kind. For instance, “crayon arms to draw” is very different from a monster that makes me infinitely rich or a monster that makes me king of everyone. The monsters are not about superpowers, but more about yummy food and cool things to do. I really recommend this section. It allows kids to unleash their creativity and express their dreams and hopes for themselves.
Next is Okui Lala’s Have you ever tried to listen to the sound of Brisbane? (2024). This room is a video of a song made and performed by kids, in many different languages, all about Brisbane and its diversity. There are also some videos about identical twins to the left and right. The main purpose of this video is to embrace diversity and multiple perspectives, it’s all about sound not vision. I spent the least amount of time here, because the interactive part had happened before it entered the gallery. This room was less entertaining because there was less to do. But the music is lovely and worth a listen!
Moving on to Brett Graham’s Wakuwaku (2024), you get to choose from several Māori designs and transfer them to the template of either a bird or a plane using a red or black crayon. There is also an informational video that explains the patterns and their relation to Māori culture, for instance the pattern of coral that resembles a brain was found in the ocean along the coast of New Zealand. I noticed that the bird and plane are quite similar, they both have a similar shape and can both fly. The template of the plane is named after a giant eagle that went extinct, which is another example of their cultural significance. All the patterns represent different things and since there are so many your templates will look different and unique every time!
Finally, there is Dana Awartani’s Unity Within Multiplicity (2024), an exhibition that is about Zellig tiles and sacred geometry found in the architecture of Spain, north Africa and other Arabic cultures. You have either a large or small template of a tile to create your own design, and you can make a new pattern using the colours dark blue, teal and yellow. This room echoes the Brett Graham room as it also uses many different patterns for great effects, and again shows us that repetition can be used to make something that is the same but different. Kids can colour in and make their very own pattern, then add it to the collaboration wall where all the tiles come together to make a beautiful display. Everyone uses the same template, but the possibilities are endless.
Overall, I 100% recommend the kids’ section for APT11. Kids can use their imagination endlessly. The space is welcoming and opens conversations, and you can share your ideas without feeling judged. It reminds kids that any small act of creation or creativity can be a part of something a lot bigger. You already have everything you need to create something amazing.
This review was kindly Guest Edited by Gabrielle Bergman.
Maya Fox is about to start year 7 at Indooroopilly State High. She likes to draw, paint, and make collages. Maya thinks art is for all ages and makes everything possible, and that anyone can enjoy it.
