Goners

The first Berlin dealer gallery we walked into (Alexander Ochs) was full of contemporary Chinese art. Nothing strange there, the work of Chinese artists is everywhere in the city as it was in London. What was a surprise though was to see the words New Zealand at our feet. They were woven into a carpet by Yang Maoyuan lying in the middle of the show. We were resolved to do as few NZ related posts as possible over here (just joking) but there is nothing like the pull of the local, particularly when it has gone global like this. The carpet was dealing with extinction (wipe your feet on them) cobbling together smaller extinct animals to create an über example. The New Zealand contribution was the quail we once sported and which parted company with us in 1875. Maoyuan had rather oddly given the snub beaked quail a long kiwi-like beak, but apart from us (and then only after a quick dive into Wikipedia), who’s going to notice?

Images: Yang Maoyuan’s Cashmere Carpet (in 60s Birth) 2007. Click image to enlarge.