X From The Metamorphosis to Animal Farm, there has been a literary practice of observing or satirising human social relations from a third perspective that is distinct from that of humans. Based on this narrative mode, it is necessary to reflect on the relationship between capitalism and nature with context. As Roland Barthes noted, ‘ narrative is international, transhistorical, transcultural: it is simply there, like life itself ‘ (Sontag, 1982). A pluralistic narrative enables us to understand more fully the state we are in.
Eucalyptus has always been associated with strength, abundance, and positive meanings. However, due to the burning of hills and monocultures prior to plantations, the term 'Eucalyptisation' is used to describe a situation of uncontrolled expansion, using the “green” image deceptively to destroy water resources and the native economic and cultural environment. (WRM Bulletin 150, 2010) As the eucalyptus itself is so innocent to be a passive coloniser, the value of its life is measured by humans and exploited by capitalism.
Goblin Core, is a London based curatorial team, graduated from UAL Curating and Collection, they are concerned with the natural world, the state of existence of non-dominant species and marginalised cultures. In this exhibition they attempted to lead the audiences’ perspective from 'nature' to ‘the society of the spectacle'. The artists have developed this theme with their own unique artistic techniques to illustrate how ' Eucalyptus' innocence can serve as a lever for society to accept different narratives’. Using installations, paintings, videos, ceramics, 3D prints and photographic prints, the artists attempted to address a wide range of social issues, including environmental ethics, political identity, consumerism, etc. It presents a syncretic perspective on the state of society in relation to nature.
Artists
- Roberta Borroni
- Megan Burridge
- Dan Culbert
- Finn Dovey
- Jiayun Fan
- Zekai Liao
- Joss Nelson
- Milica Simovic
- Skye Turner
- Shuqin Wang
- Yiping Xia
Curated by Goblin Core:
- Tian Li
- Yuqi Ni
- Yan Wang
- Jiaming Zhao
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