By JO-MARIE BROWN
A Barbie doll torso combined with the rear end of a pig is the last thing you would expect to see bursting out of a CD case.
If that seems unusual, how about a plaster of paris cast of a belly button?
At Auckland University of Technology's school of art and design, 1500 CD cases containing everything from tiny woollen jumpers to pencil shavings, computer chips and slices of apple and salami have been packed ready for shipment to Shanghai today.
Art and design head Peter Mousdale and five students will travel to China on April 12 for a two-week exhibition of the school's work as part of a reciprocal exchange programme with the Yi-Fu Vocational Polytechnic School of Art.
Mr Mousdale said a partnership between the two art and design schools was formed last April and the Chinese students would visit Auckland this year with an exhibition of their work.
The Auckland exhibition pieces, all in CD cases, were produced by students studying graphic design, spatial design, fashion technology and visual arts.
Mr Mousdale said CD cases had been chosen as the display medium as they were easy to transport and arrange.
"The exhibition will really provide a snapshot of the school and how diverse our courses are.
"The challenge for the students has been to come up with something innovative within that small format."
The students were assigned different themes and staff members contributed by creating visual and written self-portraits such as the plaster of paris belly button.
The Barbie doll CD was produced by a third-year spatial design student assigned to create an original work that explored surrealism.
Tiny woollen jumpers and clothes were produced by fashion technology students exploring fabric art, while graphic design students were asked to reinterpret famous artworks.
Mr Mousdale said he was nervous about what the students would create.
"When you're dealing with artists they will come at you from every direction. But I think the quality, originality, wit and technical finish of these works is superb."
The Asia 2000 Foundation had granted the school $12,000 for the exhibition, which Mr Mousdale thought the Chinese students would find intriguing.
"New Zealand and Chinese art schools take very different approaches. Here, we focus on playing with ideas and concepts, whereas Chinese students concentrate on the more traditional skills of drawing.
"Hopefully, we're going to amaze the students because they just don't work in this way."
The exhibition would be held in the Shanghai polytechnic's art gallery and would be open to the public.
Mr Mousdale hoped the international exposure would create long-term spinoffs for the AUT school.
"Students around the world will look for schools that are lively and do exciting things.
"Through this we will hopefully attract more degree and masters students who want to come and study with us."
Master of arts student Nova Paul, who will curate the show, has several ideas on how she wants the work presented, despite not having seen the Chinese gallery.
"The whole idea of displaying work in CD cases has a sense of institutionalisation and uniformity about it.
"So I would like to continue that uniformity by displaying the work in a grid formation.
"The fabric design work will also have a more visual impact if I block them together en masse to make it look like a patchwork quilt."
CD artists state their case in miniature
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