Lamda C-Type Print
420 × 594 mm
mounted on Aluminium
Unique
Fast-forwarding into the not so distant future, we could imagine a world where nature and the animal world have been pushed aside by bleak man-made landscapes.
With a reference to Philip K Dick's sci-fi novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' a WWF panda collecting unit was manipulated equipping mother panda with static glowing lasers.
In his novel, Dick describes how, in the future, owning and caring for an animal is a civic virtue and a social status symbol. All animals are bought and sold as priced in a catalogue, which includes extinct species and currently unavailable animals. People who cannot afford a real animal buy an electric animal for the sake of social status.
Surrogate was auctioned at the charity auction, Pandamonium hosted at Selfridges & Co. Invited artists and designers include: Peter Blake, Jim Lambie, Jason Bruges Studio, Jane Simpson, Nigel Coates, Paul Smith, Tom Dixon, Mark Titchner, Tracey Emin, Laura Ford, Gavin Turk, Gary Hume, United Visual, Artists, Adam King, Rachel Whiteread
Commissioned by WWF
Curated by Artwise Curators
Auction: ‘WWF PANDAMONIUM!’, 12th October, 2009