Happy Heads — inflatable sculptures

French-Chinese artistic duo Benoit+Bo work between China and Europe. Since meeting in 2002 in Tianjin, China, the artists’ work has been shaped by dialogue between cultures, personal experiences, the Chinese zodiac, popular traditions and contemporary transformation.

In 2011, they discovered traditional masks used in folk theatre in Hong Kong. This discovery became the foundation of Happy Heads, which explores the fluidity of identity through performance, sculpture and installation.

Last year, the duo was invited by the European Union to participate in Expo Osaka, and the work expanded into a large-scale collective performance where visitors and exhibitors were invited to wear masks as they explored the Expo grounds. Two inflatable sculptures were installed in front of the EU and Portuguese pavilions. Happy Heads now comes to the Festival of the New European Bauhaus. It builds on the Osaka work by featuring a museum exhibition of photos and masks worn at the Expo, and an outdoor installation consisting of two giant inflatable sculptures, both playful and inviting reflection on new ways of connecting across cultures and communities.