Can't Help Myself (Sun Yuan and Peng Yu)

Uncommon card · No. 152593

Can't Help Myself was a kinetic sculpture created by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu in 2016. The sculpture consisted of a robotic arm that could move to sweep up red cellulose ether fluid leaking from its inner core, and make dance-like movements. It was commissioned by The Guggenheim as part of The Robert H.N. Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative led by The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Associate Curator Xiaoyu Weng, with the intent of cultivating dialogue about the advancement of technology and industrialization, violent border control, and allusions to the nature of life. The sculpture was displayed at the Guggenheim Museum as part of the exhibition Tales of Our Time in 2016, curated by Xiaoyu Weng and Hou Hanru, and subsequently at the Venice Biennale in 2019 for the May You Live in Interesting Times exhibition. Each display elicited various audience interpretations.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Aleksandr Zykov, CC BY-SA 2.0