…Skype discussion part 2/3:
Benjamin: i think we can get to work on the invite and poster immidiatly. chris if i send you images of cool clouds and you work on placing the text when helen sends it to you
Christopher: I’m up for including The High Weiwei to Hell but what do you think about how it would translate into that context?
Christopher: Cool, Ben.
Benjamin: not sure about the essay, you can make that call
Christopher: Can I get off the line now because I need to do the Brazil proposal in a hurry?
Christopher: Bye bye. C.x
Helen: I’ll talk to people about weiwei text. I can write something too. I can write something about your work and perhaps also include a conceptual text if that’s okay?
Christopher: Yes, you writing would be good.
Benjamin: chris, for null and void print, lets do a print of space. hubble telescope. Nothings hipper than space
Helen: Is he still there?
Benjamin: propably not…
Helen: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://imagine…
Benjamin : haha, i was thinking of the photos that its taken, but thats pretty cool aswell
Helen: looks like really old-school graphics. also uber cool
Benjamin: definitely. old school graphics and space
Benjamin: retro futurist space age ruins
Helen: indeed
Benjamin: but these are so ultra hipp at the moment:
Helen: ruins- tick
Benjamin: http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/besto…
Benjamin: society’s aspirations tick…fact meets fiction
Helen: love it
Benjamin: we could also do that for the background of the china poster and invite
Benjamin: chinas taking over space and nasas quitting
Helen: a-ha
Benjamin: might be more relevant than clouds and yet the same
Benjamin: plus it would show the new depths that weve emerged ourselves into after London
Benjamin: nr 14 is pretty cool on that page
Helen: okay, all sounds reet on point. I reckon space is a go-er
Helen: The eagle!! america!
Helen: what’s china? the crab?
Benjamin: Love it
Helen: I like mystic mountain too..
Benjamin: oh, also chinas flag and communism: star/stars
Helen: yeah, the flags are everywhere at the mo as communist party had it’s 90th birthday the other day
Benjamin: oh, how was the party? no pun intended…
Helen: The govt is forcing everyone to sing old communist songs so loads of parks you walk through have people practicing old commie musical theatre with wooden actions and salutes!
Helen: actually pretty scary, they have to enforce it and pay employers and teachers to inforce it on employees and studenst, even the prisoners are being coerced!
Benjamin: wow. how are people taking it?
Helen: It’s seen as a crackdown to re-establish PRC values and everyone is getting a little too capitalist for their liking
Helen: Many people believe capitalism is destroying eastern culture, not just the government but artists think the same
Helen: However most people I talk to say no-one believes in the government, especially the govt itself!
Benjamin: does it feel like its about to go through some sort of explosive change any second or is it still calm
Helen: there is an over-riding feeling that nothing ever changes in terms of govt, despite people’s beliefs changing. It’s interesting that alot of people say the country can only be run by dictatorship as it is so large, so they kind-of dont mind
Benjamin: i guess its understandable, like in Russia, where they want a harsh leadership
Helen: I think some countries it’s culturally built in to have this, the Chinese always had dynasties which were like dicatorships, and Russia has tsars
