17.09.21 | Press

The Uncomfortable and Confronting World of Patricia Piccinini

T Magazine, 17 Sep 21.

Not only does the Melbourne-based artist create a tantalising intensity within her work, she also gently stimulates ethically-charged debate and critical thought.

If you feel a little uneasy around Patricia Piccinini’s work, it’s by design. Her hyper-realistic, silicone sculptures (some featuring human hair) portray arresting – sometimes grotesque – hybrid creatures. Although they seem animalistic at first, these life-size visitors always tend to have just enough human elements to be relatable and to elicit empathy, as well as confusion. Puccini herself describes her work as “ethically charged, strongly narrative and emotional”.

One of her more confronting art works, “Kindred” (2018),  is currently showing at Cromwell Place in London as part of the UK/Australia Season – a major cultural collaboration supported by the British Council and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Consisting of a sole figurative sculpture, Kindred depicts a chimera orangutan human mother holding her two offspring; one is half human, and the other is completely human. “When we look at her, we see an orangutan and we know they are endangered because of plantation crops invading their territory, but we’re also aware that genetically we are very close to them,” Piccinini explains.

Read the full article here