An unnamed Chinese hacker attempted to crash the Melbourne International Film Festival’s website, angered over the screening of the film The 10 Conditions of Love, which recounts the story of exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer.
BBC reports that “hackers replaced programme information with the Chinese flag and anti-Kadeer slogans and sent spam emails in an attempt to crash the site.”
The hacker has since contacted the Australian press claiming that “he does not work for the Chinese Government and is just an ordinary, angry Chinese citizen who objects to the film,” which was first shown on Sunday.
Outrage over an art exhibit which invites users to “deface the Bible” has put a negative spin on what would otherwise be dubbed an inspired curatorial program. The art work Untitled 2009, is being shown at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) as part of the “Made in God’s Image” exhibit. The work consists of an open Bible, a container of pens and the words “If you feel you have been excluded from the Bible, please write your way back into it.”
The exhibit, which was developed in collaboration with local religious groups intends to explore the contested notion of religion and sexuality, as part of the larger GOMA program sh[OUT], which raises awareness of issues faced by homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people. GOMA explains: “working with various individuals, Christian and Muslim groups, artist Anthony Schrag explored the personal and communal experiences of being both LGBTI and hav[ing] a faith, and looked to defy the expectation that being religious was just as much of a choice as someone’s sexuality.”
Anand Patwardhan’s documentary film War and Peace (2002) addresses the subject of peace activism contextualized in the military geopolitical crisis affecting India and Pakistan, while the workshop will consider “how socially-engaged art practices have confronted globalisation’s stateless subjects and transnational social relations”.
This weekend marks the last installation of the ongoing event Zones of Conflict: Rethinking Contemporary Art During Global Crisis. The series brings together artists, curators, architects and art and cultural theorists to discuss the ways in which recent geopolitical crises have changed the face of contemporary art.
Shadi Ghadirian - Untitled from the Like Everyday Series
The Saatchi Gallery’s new exhibit Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East, has been receiving a lot of press since it opened on January 30th. I had the chance to check out the popular show this past weekend, and although I may not be in a position to review the exhibit, I still must disagree with many reviewers who see the exhibit as overtly political, too controversial and bleak.
Featuring 21 young artists from countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia and Iran; the largely positive reviews have also referenced the show as being one which “may test the tolerance of some”, and can be seen as “brave — or foolish”. Rather, I found that the show successfully presented themes that are by and large universal. Click to continue »
Since winning London’s 4 New Sensations competition in 2007, 23 year old painter/photographer Sarah Maple has been making headlines. The competition, sponsored by Charles Saatchi and London’s Channel 4, has given Maple a wide platform to continue to showcase her work. Her first solo exhibit entitled “This Artist Blows” is currently in viewing at the SaLon Gallery in London’s Notting Hill.
Maple has been compared heavily to one of Saatchi’s most famed discoveries Tracy Emin, as her work provocatively and honestly explores themes of sexuality, feminism, religion, and culture through the lens of a woman investigating her British-Muslim identity. Since the opening of the controversial show in October, the gallery has been vandalized, Maple and gallery staff have received threats, and SaLon is currently under police protective surveillance.
The piece which has caused the most controversy is the now infamous painting Haram, which depicts Maple in a headscarf cradling a tiny piglet. The work has created intense backlash from segments of the Muslim community who view the painting as a blasphemous critique of the Koran (which tells Muslims to abstain from eating pork). The international press has run away with the story, both praising Maple’s insight and discrediting her as a sensationalist attention-seeker.
Outrage over an art exhibit which invites users to “
Need something to do this Valentine’s Weekend? Try hitting up the Tate Britain for its screening and workshop 
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