WHAT'S COOKING@1.Shanthiroad Studio

Justene’s performance unpacks the unruly chaos of Bangalore and exposes the underbelly of a city built on booze.

“Long before information technology made Bangalore famous, alcohol was the city’s defining industry—shaping its identity for outsiders as well as residents. Though Bangalore is often called India’s “Pub Capital”, the pubs are just the frothy head on the pour… Alcohol printed the city’s newspapers, produced its movies, put down hospitals and schools and sports teams—and ruled the men who ruled its people. It caused the worst medical emergencies, sweetened the long evenings and created the brands to which Bangaloreans feel truest loyalty. Yet Bangalore’s identity as a liquor city has always stayed in the realm of folklore. It has never been recognised in urban histories, only in jokes and in its hazy self-image as a town of “guzzlers”.--Karnad, Raghu. “City in a Bottle” The Caravan, July 2012.

About: Justene Williams lives and works in Sydney Australia. She teaches at Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney University. Exhibiting since 1991, recent shows include; Outer Spaces Christchurch Art Gallery and St Pauls Street Gallery Auckland, group shows and collaborations this year include Vivid Festival, Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art; Contemporary Australia: Women, GOMA Brisbane; Behaving bodies, Ishmael Bernal Gallery Philippines; Transmission Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney. 

Williams work is held in national and international collections. Residencies and prizes include Maddocks Art Prize, Australia Council Tokyo studio and Stichting BAD Rotterdam. Williams was listed in Sydney Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people 2011 Sydney. Williams is represented by Sarah Cottier Gallery Sydney and Block Projects, Melbourne.

This work has been commissioned by Carriageworks, Sydney.