The New Spirit of Socialism: “Improvements and Reproductions” at West Space
Powered by Lupa
It is the advertising that makes me pause. “Powered by Lupa” appears beneath every title announcement for the show. It makes me hesitate: how to read the phrase. Sponsorship? A reflexive re-appropriation of cultural capital? Lupa is an energy company, I presume. Maybe health insurance. Later I discover it is somewhere in-between, Lūpa is a media player created by artist Dara Gill, who was also director of Firstdraft gallery from 2010–12. West Space is now located in the Collingwood Arts Precinct; similarly, Firstdraft is part of the East Sydney creative precinct. I let it pass, this entrepreneurial spirit mirrors the new spirit of socialism. This was President Xi’s personal programme, added to the constitution at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2017. What has this got to do with Melbourne’s art scene? Let’s see.
Giles is a writer and researcher of film and media art histories.
