Dark Heart is the title of the 2014 Adelaide Biennial exhibition currently taking place at the Adelaide Art Gallery from March 1st to 11th May. The exhibition features 28 of the leading contemporary artist in Australia today.
Some exhibitions were held off site, while others are scattered around the Art Gallery of South Australia. One of the off site events was the Sky Whale.
Sky Whale was commissioned to celebrate the centenary of the city of Canberra. The intention was to created a balloon that looked like it belong to the Sky. A statement from the Sky Whale Wikipedia page:
“My question is what if evolution went a different way and instead of going back into the sea, from which they came originally, they went into the air and we evolved a nature that could fly instead of swim. “
I was fortunate enough to catch the SkyWhale in the botanic gardens at a viewing on the 1st March.
SkyWhale by Patricia Piccinini
Deflating SkyWhale by Patricia Piccinini
I wasn’t surprised by the comments I received on flickr and instagram about the Sky Whale. Most people either loved it or hated it. One person told me the Sky Whale is an embarrassing abomination. Another said it was a spectacular sight. Under Donald Norman’s aspects of Visual Design, the Sky Whale comes under visceral (concerns with appearances) and reflective (rationalization).
People either love or hate the Sky Whale when it is first gazed upon. However they may or may not come to understand and like the Sky Whale once the deeper meaning is understood.
Full exhibition list can be found on the Adelaide Biennial website.