Hello Possums - Patricia Piccinini

Patricia Piccinini is well known to be one of Australia's most leading contemporary artists. Piccinini's main inspiration comes from her keen interest in how contemporary ideas of nature , the natural and the artificial are changing our society. Works such as "Hello Possums"  have addressed concerns about biotechnology  such as gene therapy and ongoing research to map the human genome.  Piccinini often creates acutely aesthetic and appealing works as a means of discussing complex ethical issues. 

  

Piccinini enjoys exploring what she calls ‘the often specious distinctions between the artificial and the natural’. The concepts that underpin modern science, such as genetic engineering and other forms of biotechnology, appear to fascinate her.

The main ideas behind Piccinini's work is the fictions and mutability of the ideas of perfection, basically, she plays on peoples common perspective of perfection. Piccininic creates a contrast and relationship between the natural, organic and constructed worlds in order to suggest the potential marriage of human physiology and development.  

My first reaction to "Hello Possums" was that it was quite ugly and very weird, but with more inspection you can more clearly see how Patricia Piccinini has cleverly shown us the distinctions between natural and artificial. Piccinini shows us a mutated version of perfection and it is quite interesting to see. 

The Bird's Nest - Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei is one of China's most well known contemporary and independent artists.  Based in Beijing, he is  also a freelance curator, cultural advisor and architect. In 1979 he was one of the founders of the art group "The Stars" and in 1998 Ai Weiwei started the loft-gallery China Art Archive & Warehouse (CAAW) in Beijing, of which he is the artistic director. He collaborates with the Swiss firm Herzog de Meuron as architectural consultant for the Beijing National Stadium project. 

For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Ai Weiwei was asked to design the National Stadium for it, his design concept came from "a complete emptiness" meaning that Ai Weiwei emptied his mind and made it possible for him to find the best points from aesthetics and practicality. The main aspect that Weiwei wanted to get across was to produce a language that possessed a unique form that was able to support many functional requirements. The process obtained in creating this stadium was carefree and fun, they made it seem clear and obvious, free from any traditional notions.  

However, Ai Weiwei's personal philosiphies were far different from Chinas and even refused to attend the opening ceremony for the Olympics because he thought that it was too far from the spirit of freedom. He always thought of the ceremony as being a product of government bureaucracy, rather than a natural celebration and expression generated among free citizens. He also felt that there were too many regrets in the ceremony which dissappointed him.

Because of this he then renamed the stadium as "Pretend Smile" because he was questioning whether "it’s possible for a society that doesn’t have democracy to excite the joys and celebrations of its people." And whether or not it was possible for such a society to win international recognition and approval when liberty and freedom of expression are lacking.  Ai Weiwei stated "There are all kinds of efforts under way that are means for stricter and tighter control. When these new security rules and restrictions are put in place, how can one smile and perform, cheer and pose?"

In relation the the Chinese government Ai Weiwei believes that the biggest dissappointment is that China has fallen short of its promises to have "One World, One Dream" and to show the world a "New China, New Beijing, New Olympics." He thought that this seemed slightly fake, he didnt believe that anything had changed.  Ai Weiwei said that "What we’re seeing are the deep-rooted lack of courage and confidence, and the want for real happiness and civil participation. Instead, we see more of inept management and a blind sense of self-defense."

The Chinese society is undoubtedly bound for more freedom and democracy, and the Olympics are a great opportunity to show the world our longing for, as well as effort to achieve, democracy and freedom, rather than the opposite.

The Stadium Ai Weiwei helped create: