The Surgical Fix: Physical Capital, Self-Improvement and the Body Beautiful

Historical studies have shown that an improved physical appearance had profoundly beneficial psychological effects and behavioural outcomes. Plastic surgery became a vital tool in the 1930s, holding out the promise of removing the traces of war and eliminating prominent markers of ethnicity. In recent years the cosmetic surgery industry has grown in Australia, and as with all countries the common goal is the production of a narrowly defined culture of bodily beauty. Ryan looks at the cosmetic surgery industry and some of the artistic responses to such ideas and ideals, particularly those of artist Annabelle Collett.

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Carnophilia

This text is concerned with the notion of animal and human hybridity, as examined in a historical and contemporary context through the myth of King Minos of Crete and more recently the work of artists such as Damien Hirst and John Kelly. From the shadowy overlap between species that the minotaur depicts to such contemporary models of animal/ human formation as the fictitious Spiderman, such figures of the imagination remind us of the diminishing gap between science fact and science fiction.

Kit Wise

Lynne Roberts-Goodwin

Lynne Roberts-Goodwins work with birds is the latest chapter in her 20-year practice using digital photography. Her current work involves the research and image capture/production of animal habitat and migration using infrared and supplementary daylight fibre-optic lighting with digital image and video capture technologies.

Lynne Roberts Goodwin

The Extra Ear (or an ear on an arm)

What characterises all of Stelarc's projects and performances is the notion of the prosthetic. The EXTRA EAR is a project Stelarc has been fostering since 1997 and the problems lie in finding the appropriate medical assistance to realise it. Constructing the EXTRA EAR would involve a number of procedures, over approximately 8-10 months. Techniques from Cosmetic, Re-constructive and Orthopaedic surgery are necessary. Here Stelarc outlines some of the essential steps in constructing the EXTRA EAR and discusses the nature of this radical project.

Stelarc

Ray Cook

Ray Cook is a Brisbane-based photographic artist who has exhibited for 13 years with 20 solo shows to his credit. Cooks work has been primarily concerned with mortality, loss of control and the way gender and sexuality have been perceived in the media. His images are highly theatrical, staged scenarios, a hybrid of performance and still photography.

Ray Cook

In correct syntax, Greg Leong, Mammad Aidani and Matthew Ngui,

Nexus Multicultural Art Centre Adelaide 6 September - 7 October 2001

Paul Downton

Lily Hibberd: Burning Memories

TCB Gallery Melbourne 13 - 24 November 2001

Juliette Peers

Hema Upadhyay, The Nymph and the Adult, Sung Kwon Park, (un)real, Eugene Carchesio, On Contemporary $ilence

Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane 1 December - 26 January

Alison Kubler

The Bank West Inaugural Contemporary Art Prize, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art

8 November 2001 - 26 January 2002

David Dolan

Animal Love and Bestiality

Bronwyn Platten

Similarities, Gen-et(h)ic Boundaries, and Respect for Otherness

This article discusses a specific aspect of the human/ animal relationship and of communication in and between species. It points to a few specific experiments which have been conducted to try and bridge the gap between human and animal connectivity and relatedness. Furthermore it recognises the different ways animals and humans relate to and view the world around them, whether it be via visual, tactile, olfactory, auditory or other sensory devices.

Barbara Noske

Love and Death: Art in the Age of Queen Victoria

Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide 7 December 2001 - 3 February 2002

Vesna Drapac

On Humans and Other Animals 'Becoming' Each Other

The metaphor of becoming animal till there is no longer man or animal is becoming real with the advances in genetic tissue technology and stem cell research. Artists dealing with hands-on wet biology art practice are exploring the tangibility of such an idea. Zurr looks at issues surrounding such new technology, at the experiment which saw an ear grafted onto a mouses back, constructed in vitro (outside of the body) and the possible future for the human and animal kingdoms.

Ionat Zurr

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