Patricia Piccinini loves the way an exhibition can change the space it occupies, that a gallery can be transformed by the work it contains. By introducing Pneutopia 2018, a giant inflatable blooming from the roof of a garden shed, she has completely disrupted the sight lines of the Gallery of Modern Art’s (GOMA) long gallery during ‘Patricia Piccinini: Curious Affection’. It’s impossible to view the inflatable’s exterior in full, rising up over three floors, there is no point where you can step back far enough, this can only be done successfully from inside the garden shed looking up.

Watch | Installation time-lapse

Watch our time-lapse as we install Patricia Piccinini’s Pneutopia 2018 at GOMA

Find out the inspiration for ‘Pneutopia’

Patricia Piccinini, Australia b.1965 / Pneutopia 2018 (installed at GOMA) / Ripstop nylon, shed, air / Dimensions variable / Courtesy: The artist; Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne; Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney; and Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco / © The artist

The inflatable follows on from Piccinini’s controversial Skywhale, a huge hot-air balloon of a whale, commissioned for the Centenary of Canberra in 2013. The title Pneutopia is derived from the ancient Greek word ‘Pneuma’ which translates to air, and ‘topia’ for ‘space’, combines to become ‘a space for air’.

Piccinini was inspired to create this magnificant site-specific work for Brisbane after she was able to enter the whale balloon during its inflation. You now have the unique opportunity to experience this other-world sensation only at GOMA.

Walk with Patricia Piccinini

Feature image detail: Visitors interacting with Pneutopia

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