Bound to solicit horrified looks from fellow parents, Shi Jinsong’s Gun-shaped Baby Carriage is part of his series ‘Na Zha’. It is a ‘brand name’ for a line of outrageously unsafe baby products. Ironic? Of course. The Gun-shaped Baby Carriage won’t make it to anyone’s baby-shower registry, but that’s not the point. The ‘Na Zha’ Baby Boutique is “a dialogue, at once menacing and ironic, between the forms of mythic Chinese culture and modern day globalization.” explains Chambers Fine Art.

Na Zha Baby Boutique: Gun Shaped Baby Carriage shown in ‘China –
Contemporary Revival’ at Palazzo Reale. Designed by Shi Jinsong.

A razor-sharp stainless steel form; the fusion of a stroller and an armored tank.  Shi jinsong’s work is currently part of an exhibition at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, ‘China – Contemporary Revival‘, on display from December 11, 2009 to February 7, 2010.  In relation to its other Baby Boutique counterparts: “a sadistic Cradle; a sinister Walker; and a malicious, multi-part toy complete with needle-tipped pacifiers and dismembering abacus,” the baby carriage is seemingly tame.  “Baby Boutique confronts its ‘shopper’ with a radically strange and seductive ‘product,’ lethal luxury designed to reveal the forces that dominate our lives in unimaginable ways.” according to Chambers Fine Art.  At once disturbing and intriguing, Artkrush explains the collection as “a withering satire of global consumer culture and its manifestation in China.”

Na Zha Baby Boutique: Gun Shaped Baby Carriage shown in ‘China – Contemporary Revival’ at Palazzo Reale. Designed by Shi Jinsong.

Na Zha Baby Boutique: Gun Shaped Baby Carriage shown in ‘China – Contemporary Revival’ at Palazzo Reale. Designed by Shi Jinsong.

Na Zha Baby Boutique: Gun Shaped Baby Carriage shown in ‘China – Contemporary Revival’ at Palazzo Reale. Designed by Shi Jinsong.

Na Zha Baby Boutique: Multi-part toy. Designed by Shi Jinsong.

Na Zha Baby Boutique: Cradle. Designed by Shi Jinsong.

Na Zha Baby Boutique: Walker. Designed by Shi Jinsong.

The series borrows its name from an enduring figure of Chinese folklore and mythology: Na Zha, potentially more well-known  from Japanese anime.  “A militaristic child god of pranks”; “an impish trickster with supernatural powers”.  Na Zha is renowned for his penchant for violence and cunning mind, and revered for his “flamboyant fashion sense”, wearing flaming red silk trousers and fireball feet.  He is now most widely acknowledged as the patron saint of lotteries, gambling and the high life – and as the star of a children’s animation series.  “Na Zha Baby Boutique” humorously reinvents this character from Chinese mythology as the new face of motherhood.

Jinsong has also received recognition for his Secret Book of Cool Weapons, 2002, where he portrayed corporate logos (Mercedes Benz, Nike etc) as ancient, powerful weapons in corporate battles.

via designboom.

all images via designboom