Patricia Piccinini, "Boot Flower," 2015, (detail), silicone, fiberglass, human hair, 40 1/2 x 39 3/8 x 23 5/8 inches
Since she burst into international prominence at the 2003 Venice Biennale, Patricia Piccinini has become famous for creating some of the most troubling and provocative artworks of our time. With silicone, fiberglass, resin, human hair and animal fur, she imagines creatures that are eerie in their verisimilitude to flesh, but disconcertingly surreal. Her work makes us question what it means to be human, how that is rapidly changing through advances in medicine, science and technology, and how we might think differently to understand those changes.
In her first solo exhibition on the West Coast, Piccinini will exhibit sculptures, drawings and a single channel video exploring possibilities of genetic variation and modification, the natural versus the unnatural, and love and parenthood. Piccinini raises questions about the most important topics of our time from a surreal perspective somewhere between thought and emotion -- but always from a place of empathy and openheartedness.
Based in Melbourne, Patricia Piccinini (b. 1965, Freetown, Sierra Leone) represented Australia in the 2003 Venice Biennale. Her sculpture, video, drawing and installations have been exhibited extensively internationally and are in the collections of museums throughout the world.
