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Patricia Piccinini is an Australian sculptor known for her hyper-realistic artworks that explore the intersection of natural and artificial life, often using materials like silicone, fibreglass, and human hair. Her sculptures, which include both hybrid creatures and futuristic objects, evoke emotions and challenge perceptions of human and non-human relationships. Influenced by her studies in biology and personal experiences, Piccinini's work encourages audiences to reflect on their connections to the world around them.

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7 views

Copy of Extended response

Patricia Piccinini is an Australian sculptor known for her hyper-realistic artworks that explore the intersection of natural and artificial life, often using materials like silicone, fibreglass, and human hair. Her sculptures, which include both hybrid creatures and futuristic objects, evoke emotions and challenge perceptions of human and non-human relationships. Influenced by her studies in biology and personal experiences, Piccinini's work encourages audiences to reflect on their connections to the world around them.

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arvoruskie
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Patricia Piccinini, born in 1965 in Sierra Leone is an Australian contemporary sculptor, in which

her work explores and conveys the interconnection of natural and artificial life -- demonstrating
hybrid natures between humans and animals. To create her artworks, Piccinini uses a
combination of artificial materials including silicone and fibreglass, and organic materials such
as human hair and leather. Although hyper realistic creatures is what Piccinini is known for, in
her early career she would create ‘futuristic’ sculptures imitating mutated and warped
vehicles/non living objects such as scooters and helmets using fibreglass, steel and leather.

Piccinini’s artworks are greatly influenced by her studies of pathologies and aberrations, due to
the fact that she initially had a B.A in painting as well as spending a lot of time making drawings
of preserved specimens whilst visiting medical museums, ultimately resulting in her sculptures
centering around biology. Picccinini also draws inspiration from anatomical models, botanical
illustrations, photographs of newborn animals, consumer and car culture, and works by the
16th-century Italian painter Caravaggio. With all her works, Piccinini starts off with her drawings,
which are translated into 3 Dimensional objects by herself, and a small team of technicians.
They do this through both the traditional process being by hand, and computer based
techniques including 3D printing and using CNC milling machines for testing ideas.

Piccinini as an artist likes to explore the blurred lines of human life and hybrid/unnatural life. For
example, her sculpture ‘Doubting Thomas’ is ultimately of a young boy petting what looks to be
a mole-like creature giving birth in a chair. The boy is wearing modern, casual clothing, creating
a connection between the art and the audience, making them relate to the boy and giving them
the idea that it could be them in his position. The artworks may also give the audience an eerie
feeling due to the hyperrealism and the human hair that had been used for the sculpture.
However, in the artwork the boy seems calm, in fact he has more of an expression of curiosity
as he comfortably reaches for the strange creature. This alludes to the innocence and
open-minded nature of a young child, highlighting that judgement and fear of the unknown is
taught to us as we grow up. Furthermore, the creature allowing the boy to interact with it
demonstrates a sense of trust and an unexpected bond -- she may feel a sense of motherhood
towards the human child. Due to Piccinini’s creations of the intertwining of the natural and
artificial world, she is able to communicate her creative ideas about the interconnected and
changing nature of our world, forcing the audience to question their own, and Piccinini’s
sculptures relation to the world around us.

Piccinini uses structural frame to a high extent, as she conveys her ideas to the audience
through the very specific ways in which she creates her artworks; from the materials, size,
expressions and overall realism of her art. Piccinini’s sculptures are life-sized, and sometimes
feels even larger due to the fact that the sculptures are often displayed on a higher platform.
This makes the audience feel as though her unusual creatures are real, and that they’re about
to move at any moment. Furthermore, she uses the structural frame to a significant extent as
her audience may also feel vulnerable next to the sculptures as they are sometimes larger than
humans themselves. Almost all of Piccinini’s creatures also seem to contain human features
including eyes filled with emotion, human breasts, human limbs, etc. This makes viewers feel
empathy with the creatures, as they contain features that they are familiar with.. They almost
see the creatures as a member of tier society also due to the fact that all of her sculptures are
hyperreal. Piccinini’s material practice consists of, in order: sketching, testing (translating into
3D objects), fabricating, moulding with silicon, and applying human hair to create the final hyper
realistic look. Therefore, Piccinini uses structural frame to a high extent as through the ways in
which she physically creates her artworks, she evokes many emotions and mixed feelings from
her audience

In an interview by Next Nature, Piccinini says that she “never had many opportunities to interact
with nature or animals or the natural world.” However later states that she has still had some
amazing experiences in nature and with animals. Therefore being given the inspiration to create
the art that she does. She states that she doesn’t believe that nature was made for us. In
another interview, it is suggested that Piccinini didn’t have much interactions with her family as a
child, as it is stated that she felt quite lonely growing up. However she also blames the fact that
she had to move countries for making her feel disconnected from the world. Piccinini had tried
to include herself in communities to talk about important ideas, probably those of which are
demonstrated in the art. Her sculptures are interactive to an extent as the audience are able to
connect with the art, it takes up physical space. ‘The Skywhale’ has also interacted with
Australia, as Piccinini had taken it to flight over Canberra as well as numerous other places in
Australia during its tour.

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