It's an enormous mammalian sculpture that stands more than 30 metres high but the hot air balloon's creator hopes any momentary confusion people may have when they see Skywhalepapa soon gives way to thoughts of comfort and care.
Skywhalepapa, the spouse of the initially controversial Skywhale balloon, was officially unveiled this morning at a dawn event outside the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra's Parliamentary Triangle.
But unfavourable wind conditions meant the balloons were unable to take their first flight together across the capital, and they remained tethered.
Around 2,000 spectators who secured tickets to the sold-out event, and thousands more on and around Lake Burley Griffin, were still able to get a good view of the sculptures, which took 40 minutes to inflate.
Adam Pigott was among those Canberrans who rose before dawn for the launch, wearing his handmade Skywhalepapa papier mache hat.
"It's fun, special and joyous — like a dream coming to life," he said.
The sculptures have inspired creativity across the city, with a local bakery creating a Skywhale croissant cone, a brewer mixing up a new Skywhale ale, and musician Jess Green (aka Pheno) composing her art pop song: We are the Skywhales.
Skywhalepapa a symbol of nurture
Each balloon is a sculpture of massive proportions — not just a work of art, but a hand-sewn aircraft that took months to engineer and create.
It required some 3.6 kilometres of fabric and 3.6 million stitches to construct Skywhalepapa, which artist Patricia Piccinini said was taller and "more vertical" than the original.
"It took quite a long time to get the form right," she said.
"He looks so majestic and so strong and he also really fit with the Skywhale, like you could tell they were part of the same species. It was like they've evolved together."
Piccinini said while the original Skywhale had been inspired by the wonder of nature, the new addition reflected the importance of nurture.
The Skywhalepapa balloon depicts not just Skywhale's spouse, but also their nine babies, ranging in age from toddler to newborn, nestled safely under the creature's fins.
"For me, Skywhalepapa is about answering the question that so many people had about the Skywhale, which is: 'Where are her babies?'" she said.
"They're with their father, and he's looking after them.
"There are nine offspring and he's looking after all of them and making sure that none of them fall to the ground.
"It's about how we see a strong masculine figure nurturing his children and how beautiful that looks and the idea that care is not gendered, it's not just female. It's available to all of us."
By giving Skywhale a partner and children, Piccinini said the potential for deeper thought about the floating creatures only grew.
"When you have two balloons, you have a relationship, and with a relationship, you have the possibility for a narrative," she said.
"Now that we have two, we have this possibility of creating all these different stories about how they are with each other and how they are with their children and how they are with the world."
Controversial origins
The original Skywhale drew controversy on its 2013 unveiling, in part because the ACT Government put $300,000 in public money towards an artwork many Canberrans found bizarre.
It has been variously described as "a giant turtle with breasts", "terrifyingly nipply" and "the Hindenboob".
But Piccinini said public sentiment towards it had warmed in the intervening years.
"To me that's always kind of a success in my work.
"It does kind of take an emotional engagement to come into the ideas, engage with them, and then actually open your heart to them: That's a journey."
Skywhalepapa is due to be launched alongside Skywhale twice in the coming weeks outside the National Gallery, before embarking on a tour of Australia.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTAyLTA3L3NreXdoYWxlcGFwYS11bnZlaWxlZC1pbi1jYW5iZXJyYS1hdC1uYXRpb25hbC1nYWxsZXJ5LWF1c3RyYWxpYS8xMzEyNzU4MNIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMzEyNzU4MA?oc=5
2021-02-06 22:55:00Z
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