TO TRANSFORM...

"'The scene of translation is one of instability...above all it involves an exchange which promotes change" Sarat Maharaj

To transform means to change in appearance, shape, form or character. In the context of translation, it implies that that some kind of exchange has taken place resulting in a shift in meaning. When the appearance or context of a thing changes, its meaning can be transformed. Think of the swastika; an ancient Sanskrit symbol of well-being, transformed into a Nazi emblem.

Imagine if Anthony Gormley's "Angel of the North" was remade pocket-sized, or if the "Mona Lisa" had a moustache drawn on her or if the Union Jack's colours were changed and the new flag hung in a gallery?...In fact all those examples have been done by artists attempting to question the status of the original piece and the value of works of art in general.

Yinka Shonibare makes sculptural installations and photographs, transforming familiar objects or scenes from history. By substituting certain images, materials or characters for others, he is able to comment ironically on issues of identity, history and class.

Yinka Shonibare - "Cha, Cha, Cha", 1997. (1)

• If you could morph into anything, what would you become?
• Does a change in your appearance effect a) how you feel b) how others see you?
• Can you think of an experience or moment in your life which transformed you in some way?
• If we can clone, genetically alter and surgically transform people, at what point is a human no longer human?
• If an artwork can be infinitely cloned, does it lose its value?

DISCUSS

RESEARCH

BRAINSTORM

DESCRIBE

COMPARE

Felix Gonzalez-Torres, "Untitled", 1991 (1)

"Would not we shatter it to bits - and then remould it nearer to the heart's desire! " Omar Khayyam

Mechanical reproduction methods such as photography allow artists and others to create millions of versions of an image from one original. Digital technology now means we can produce infinite copies or clones of a work where each is identical in every way and there is no longer one original.

Computer technology enables metamorphosis. We can transform or alter images and other digital data, often in imperceptible ways because each element is nothing more than a numeric code. In the same way that genetic engineering allows scientists to modify apparently random attributes of nature, so artists can create artificial beings and construct 'intelligent' environments. But technological developments never solve problems without exchanging them for a new set of questions.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres was a Cuban-American artist who created conceptual works involving mass reproduction, exchange and audience participation. He very often addressed emotional issues such as love, loss or the impact of AIDS. Many of the works are named 'Untitled' and have no fixed meaning, depending instead on individual viewers to interpret or 'finish' the piece.