CONVERGE :: Essays Papers

None Provided15 CONVERGE Converge is an exhibition on at the South Australian Art Gallery between March 2nd until March 30th. The exhibition profiles a selection of work from Australian artists. Our perceptions are challenged as we explore the nexus between art, science and technology. Combining technology and science with art. Ranging from bioethics to the environment to robotics. The exhibition is based on research and discovery. Australian artists have met the challenge merging art and science together producing work that is contemporary a journey for us all to take. Converge artists are engaged in critical debates helping to fusing social and political issues. Converge symposium (at the Adelaide Festival 2002 and online) is an opportunity to express and share opinions on the many issues Converge brings up. Just how could you bring together Art, science and technology? The artists of Converse have done just this admirably. The works have been produced using many different mediums, exploring cutting edge research. One project named Pig Wings created by Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr uses semi-living tissues to create three dimensional tissue sculptures. In the last five years the artists have grown semi-living objects, by culturing cells on artificial scaffolds. The ultimate goal of this work is to culture and sustain for long periods, tissue sculptures thus creating a whole new artistic palette. The semi-living objects consist of both synthetic materials and living organic matter. This particular project used pig’s marrow stem cells in order to grow three sets of wings. The use of living cell and tissues for artistic purposes has created concerns. It blurs the boundaries between what we consider acceptable and what is not. There has been much debate recently in regard to the use of human embryonic stem cells. These cells could potentially help millions of people, but governments and churches that say it is not ethical to use â€Å"potential† human beings have blocked the use of them. This project could help to challenge our perceptions about the use of stem cells. A piece of work completely different from Pig Wings is Ngurrara Canvas by the Mangkaja artists. This work is a collorative effect with each of the artists painting his or her own piece of country. The piece is eight metres by ten metres and maps the lands that form part of the Great Sandy Desert. The main intention behind the work was political but the artists have worked well together blending each area so as to create a seamless whole.