Exhibition provides thought-provoking look at originality

Italian artist and curator Maurizio Cattelan is known for his approach of using elements borrowed from elsewhere in his own creation to discuss the relationship between originality and copying. His works are often collages of elements from historic events, cultural phenomena and social news. He challenges people's existing opinions and provides a novel perspective on what's happening in the world.

Cattelan says his practices have always centered around the belief that "copying is an act that can bring originality". He says that there is a difference between the acts of copying and replicating. He explains that while a copy "maintains a relationship with" - and may likely enrich - the original, a replica adds nothing new and is simply identical.

Cattelan stresses this belief at The Artist is Present, an exhibition he has curated at Yuz Museum in Shanghai. Ironically, the name itself imitates artist Marina Abramovi, who in a 2010 exhibition with the same title, sought to show how the artistic concept is more important than the medium through which it is conveyed.