March 14, 2015

Patricia Piccinini's monstrously beautiful works

Piccinini was born in 1965 In Sierra Leone but moved to Australia in 1972 with her family. She initially studied economic history before enrolling at art school in Melbourne. Since 1991 her work has been exhibited around the world.

Piccinini works in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, video, sound, installation and digital prints. She has an ambivalent attitude towards technology but enjoys exploring what she calls... the often specious distinctions between the artificial and the natural. She is keenly interested in how our changing understanding of these concepts will effect the further evolution of our society. Specific works have addressed concerns about biotechnology, such as gene therapy and ongoing research to map the human genome. She is also fascinated by the mechanisms of consumer culture.

Probably one of my all-time favorite artists, each and every one of her works invites and rewards closer study. What at first sight appears shocking often reveals something surprisingly tender. Most of her work is very layered and can be interpreted in a multitude of ways.

1 comment:

  1. I came here looking for transhumanism. The images displayed in this post have taken me beyond imagination. In fact I don't agree with all those images but who agrees with everything anyway? So, that is not the issue. In fact transhumanism is something that we need. It is like a community moving from country to suburban and then to urban lifestyle. We are moving towards the transhuman stages and we should be. I am happy that there are people who openly welcome these thoughts. Here are some thoughts on the same: http://www.awaitedelement.com/2015/03/new-world-order-transhumanism.html

    ReplyDelete