The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Artist Hirst’s diamond skull part of retrospective Posted: 21 Nov 2011 05:42 AM PST  Damien Hirst and diamond-studded skull. ― Reuters pic "For the Love of God", which fetched the then equivalent of US$100 million (RM317 million) in 2007 when it was sold to a consortium of investors including the artist himself, is one of Hirst's most famous and controversial works. A life-size platinum cast of an 18th century human skull has been covered with 8,601 flawless diamonds, including a 52.4 carat pink stone which has been valued alone at £4 million (RM19.96 million). Like much of Hirst's work, the sculpture is a commentary on mortality and death as well as market forces, although to some critics it amounts to little more than "bling". The work will go on show in Tate Modern's cavernous Turbine Hall as a free display, but also accompanies a retrospective being staged in the same London gallery. That exhibition, running from April 4 to September 9, 2012 and sponsored by the Qatar Museums Authority, will bring together more than 70 of Hirst's works, including a shark suspended in formaldehyde and a bisected cow and calf. Also on display will be examples of other Hirst trademark pieces ― cabinets lined with medicine, spin and spot paintings and butterfly images. The 46-year-old is considered one of Britain's most influential contemporary artists whose works and business acumen have made him rich. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s as the leading member of a movement known as Young British Artists, whose members were quickly accepted by commercial collectors around the world and the British art establishment. Hirst has long divided critics between those who champion art that deals with death and the monetary value of painting and sculpture, and those who believe he is a canny businessman more than talented artist. The retrospective at Tate Modern will be open during the Summer Olympics in London and is part of the London 2012 Festival which aims to showcase British art during the event. ― Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Southern Africa seeks to unite its railways Posted: 20 Nov 2011 06:43 PM PST JOHANNESBURG, Nov 21 — Countries across southern Africa are pouring billions of dollars into overhauling their railways, hoping to ease the flow of exports and to boost their plan to create a common market. Angola and Mozambique are reviving railways that had been destroyed during decades of civil war. South Africa has proposed tripling its rail investment to unblock bottlenecks in its exports of raw materials.  Sunset in the Kalahari Desert … Linking the railways of Southern African countries could boost trade connections across the region's vast areas. — Picture courtesy of shutterstock.com "The expansion of our mining and resource processing industries, which are key exporters in our economies, is going to depend on the growth of rail capacity and improvement in productivity," said Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba. "Rail is an intrinsically cheaper and more efficient form of transport for large volume, heavy goods that need to be transported over long distances," he told a regional rail conference recently. Outside of South Africa's better developed system, the region's other railways are colonial inheritances designed purely to bring the riches of the continent's interior to sea. The lines are often isolated, with few connections. The 15-nation Southern African Development Community is expected to produce a blueprint for regional transportation plans, as part of its move toward eventually creating a common market. In the meantime countries are pressing ahead on their own, with Chinese firms taking a leading role in the construction work. One of the most spectacular projects would link Namibia's railways to the South Africa network around Johannesburg, by crossing Botswana's Kalahari Desert. But not everything is running smoothly. Botswana is looking to link to Mozambique's ports on the Indian Ocean by crossing Zimbabwe, rather than South Africa. Namibia is building a line towards Angola, where no extension is planned. "In the past few years, driven partly by the commodity price boom and the expansion of the mining sector, there has been a renewed interest in reviving the railway sector," said consultant Bo Giersing. "The main challenge is not to finance the infrastructure provision, it is rather to achieve an economically viable and sustainable railway service." And to get away from outdated methods, with inefficient rotation of stock and unnecessary transshipments. Crossing borders also poses a major problem, with trains often stuck for two or three days waiting for Customs clearance. The goal is to reduce the wait to one hour. "It is critical that we leverage rail to expand trade in the region," Gigaba said. "We need to see how we can support the growth of rail transport in our neighbouring countries as scale will benefit us all." Improving transport would do a lot for regional economies. For a landlocked nation like Malawi, transport accounts for 55 per cent of the cost of merchandise, said Bernard Dzawanda, head of the Southern African Railway Association. Just as the region is moving toward integrating its rail lines, South Africa has thrown a new challenge into the mix: Pretoria wants to build new lines with a standard gauge track of 1.435 metres, which is seen as more convenient. The region already uses the so-called Cape gauge, of 1.067 metres. — AFP-Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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