Minefield

Minefield
Edited by Edward Colless
Authors: Lucy Bleach, Donald Brook, Edward Colless, Justin Clemens, Helen Hughes
Art + Australia | May 2017

Tim Burns’ earthwork for the 1973 Mildura Sculpture Triennial was comprised of red dirt, make-shift landmines and a ‘Danger’ sign. Before Minefield opened a stone was lobbed over the field triggering a plume of smoke and fire. Then came an order for the artwork to be detonated entirely – fragmenting the opportunity for a wider audience to experience it, or to query the artist’s premise and execution. Forty-three years later, the title of the book, Minefield adds both intrigue and clarity to a spectacle that considered Indigenous sovereignty, land rights and nuclear testing.

The first in a series of books from Art + Australia investigating a “major Australian work,” Minefield introduces five intergenerational voices with an art historical perspective, personal reflections and archival documents placing the work and confirming Burns’ self-appointed role as a “context artist.”