If it’s “immature” of me to find a piece of art funny just because it’s a giant flying whale with huge titties, then, fuck, I don’t want to be mature.
If you’re unfamiliar with Australia‘s largest floating mammal, the Skywhale is a sculpture / hot air balloon designed by artist Patricia Piccinini, that flew for the first time in Canberra in 2013, after being commissioned as part of the celebration of Canberra’s centenary.
It looks like this:
It was envisioned as a creature with a gentle nature from an alternate timeline where life on Earth took to the skies – from the artwork’s website:
“Wings didn’t make sense to Patricia; the creature was too big and the technical limitations of balloon design wouldn’t allow them anyway. So she took a cue from the balloon itself, and imagined that the creature might somehow secrete a lighter than air gas. In the place of wings she imagined huge udders that might contain the gas, as well as a huge bulbous body.“She imagined the creature with a slightly more human face, with a calm benign expression that would inspire empathy rather than fear. Her aim was to create a being that was massive and wondrous and that exists somewhere between the impossible and the unlikely.”
I for one love the giant kind sky creature and, as such, am thrilled about its return to our beautiful shores. The Skywhale, or “Moby Tit” as I call him, has been touring internationally, having visited both Rio De Janeiro and São Paulo in Brazil, in addition to Tokyo and Galway in Ireland, but is currently on its way back to Melbourne.
Piccinini says she’s happy that Moby is back in Australia, but is mostly just keen for it to come back to Canberra:
“She’s on her way back home now and I’m really excited.“My dream is that she comes back to Canberra one day. The Skywhale is all about Canberra. She was born there. My dream is for her to come back one day and fly over Lake Burley Griffin.”
I for one hope this beautiful bosom-whale gets to go home soon. For now, here’s a surprisingly emotional video of the creature taking wing for the first time:
Source: Canberra Times.
Photos: Getty Images / Stefan Postles.
