Next Week: Chris Lipomi - Maa-nupi Wakipi

Chris Lipomi
Maa-nupi Wakipi

Michael Lett
05/03/08-05/04/08

Preview 6pm Wednesday 5 March

She’s Germany’s newest celebrity polar bear and like the now-grown-up Knut before her, Flocke is receiving a lot of international attention Flocke the polar bear cub lies limp in her keeper’s arms, a curled pink tongue sticking out of her mouth just under the small, black nose. The ridges of her snowy white coat break only to reveal shiny black eyes and tiny ear flaps.

It’s not the first time humans have been captivated by a baby animal that’s just too darling not to share. If you don’t believe the human race is obsessed with cuteness, consider these numbers: more than 23,000 people were moved and inspired. As hunter-gatherers, we had to know where animals were and what they were doing, either so we could prey on them or we could avoid being preyed upon, she says. Tests have shown that when humans are shown randomly moving dots, they tend to give these dots animal characteristics.

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” she says. “[The community] needs these images of polar bears and lions to raise consciousness and raise funds for their work but it kind of constrains them a bit”. “Humans are, by their nature, highly social animals and being in groups and having the support of other individuals, even if they are animals, seems to be very important to us,” she adds.

Chris Lipomi was born in Miami in 1975 and lives and works in Los Angeles. Recent solo exhibitions include Uzihektakta Wakipi, (CaVe Project), Los Angeles;Webik: Okiri Wakipi, Renwick Gallery, New York; Laau Pi, Atelier Frankfurt, Frankfurt; Art Positions, Daniel Hug at Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami; Kukadiku, Karma International, Zurich; Makawana Omawaki, Daniel Hug, Los Angeles. Recent group exhibitions include Köln Show 2, European Kunsthalle, Cologne; Modern Primitivism, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago; Back from the End of the Earth, Ben Kaufman Galerie, Berlin; Group Show, Regen Projects, Los Angeles.

Maa-nupi Wakipi at Michael Lett is Chris Lipomi’s first project in the Southern Hemisphere.

ENDS

© Scoop Media