Luke George — 'DISPLAY OF AFFECTION No.5 - Puppy', 2024

Having "de-wilded" animals for human needs, are pets still animals or rather, are they an extension of our human selves? DISPLAY OF AFFECTION No.5 - Puppy is a macramé human puppy hood. It is a mask to be worn by a human in "Pup Play" - a type of kink culture role-play where individuals take on the role of a puppy. There are infinite ways to express yourself as a pup, but the basic premise is to let go of your human world and focus on the here and now through the personality of a puppy. The name of this human macramé pup is Hitch.

"I appreciate encounters with my friends' animal families, wild animals and human animals. I love the surprising behaviours they reveal, alongside their need for consistency and appreciation for basic needs - food, rest, movement and pleasure. Most of all, I love their instincts for discovery and play. I am not in the pup play scene myself, but I know a few human pups and adore their special blend of chaos." - Luke George

This hood is part of an ongoing installation series, DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION, which explores the intersection between the function and craft of macramé and the aesthetics and dynamics of rope bondage to explore the body, desire, kink and queerness. The series is a way to untangle non-normative intimacies in the public space and rethink the practice and transmittance of consent, pleasure and wisdom between bodies, generations and species.

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Luke George (he/they) is a multidisciplinary artist creating work that spans performance, installation, craft, curation and rope. Luke was born in Lutruwita/Tasmania and resides on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm/Melbourne. Through their work, Luke examines the dynamics of intimacy and collectivity to create 'safe spaces' that allow for care as well as risk. Luke's artistic practice is informed by queer politics and spaces, whereby people are neither singular nor isolated; bodies of difference can intersect, practice mutual listening, take responsibility for themselves and one another.

Luke creates and performs work across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America, with notable presentations at the Venice Biennale, National Galleries of Victoria and Singapore, RISING, Dance Massive, Liveworks Festival, Australian Design Centre, Rencontres chorégraphiques de Seine-Saint-Denis, Time Based Art Festival and many more. Luke was a 2019 Australia Council for the Arts Fellowship recipient, in 2020 appointed inaugural Artistic Associate of Temperance Hall, in 2022 was bequeathed a Chloe Monroe Fellowship and is a studio artist at the Collingwood Yards.

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PET SHOP

16 Mar - 4 May 2024

Read more about the exhibition

Material: paracord, mannequin head

Dimensions: 35 x 20 x 45 cm

Please note, all works will be available for collection at the end of the exhibition on May 4. For shipping enquiries, please contact shop@craft.org.au who will be available to provide an Art Courier quote.