our photos of the Australian Pavilion
The Australian Pavilion created quite some buzz for its tote bags, which were all gone after 2 days. But although we missed the bags, we discovered an artist who's worth at least the same amount of buzz.
Agreed, at first glance Hany Armanious didn't put up a super production. As an uninformed viewer, you even risk to see an almost random selection of found objects. At closer look however - and thanks to the explanations of Adam Jasper who we met at the pavilion - a whole new world opens: what looks like wood is actually cast in iron, resin, or another rare and expensive material; what seems to be found in the street is carefully produced in artist studio. And the longer you walk through the pavilion the more the objects start interfering with each other.
Yet one of the works on display completely inverts this logic: the Burger King crown. This gold-colored paper party toy becomes a genuine gold-plated crown decorated with precious stones. What you see is what you get, quite unexpectedly.
A truly great show, worth every buzz possible!