Gutierrez + Portefaix

How should Hong Kong be represented? This question found an answer through Concrete Jungle / The Parrot's Tale, a large-scale installation by MAP Office for the 2007 Venice Biennale. Beginning with a steamy, mist-filled island, roughly in the shape of Hong Kong and constructed in the courtyard of the Hong Kong Pavilion, that was covered in oyster shells and inhabited by fake talking parrots, the work problematized the act of representation itself. This volume is an extension of MAP's Venice project and includes documentation of the complex process behind the fabrication of this much-talked-about artwork. Critical dialogues with Beijing artist Ai Weiwei complete the picture.