Specialising in a range of media from painting to digital prints, the Australian artist is best-known for her instantly recognisable lifelike sculptures which explore our understanding of ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ and how the relationship between science, evolution and nature can affect this perception.
Made from a combination of materials including silicone, fibreglass and human hair, her remarkably realistic masterpieces are slightly grotesque and unsettling, yet captivating and alluring at the same time – something which she explains is not accidental.
“The audience is drawn to the work because it’s beautifully made and there’s a sentiment there, but at the same time, they’re pushed away because it is different and we’re hardwired to be suspicious of difference,” she explained.
“You’re pulled in and pushed away and that opens up a space for the viewer to actually be present and empathetic to the work.”
The transgenic nature of Ms Piccinini’s creations is inspired by her interest in the idea of genetic modification as a form of evolution, and explores the ethics that come into play as the line between nature and science begins to blur.
Having been exhibited internationally since 1991, from Japan to Europe, South America, the US and Asia, Ms Piccinini’s unique work has made her one of Australia’s most celebrated artists.
Perhaps one of her most controversial works, The Skywhale, was a hot air balloon made from four hectares of nylon commissioned by the ACT Government for its Centenary year which cost $300,000.
In 2016, Ms Piccinini collaborated with Dr David Logan, a Senior Research Fellow at the Monash University Accident Research Centre, and trauma surgeon Dr Christian Kenfield, to create Graham, a lifelike sculpture which portrays the human body’s vulnerability, as part of the TAC's road safety campaign Towards Zero.
It was last year, however, that Ms Piccinini truly took the international art scene by storm, when her single exhibition in Brazil became so well-visited that it evolved into a series of four shows across the South American nation.
“Before I had that first show in São Paulo no one there knew my work and I didn’t think that people would connect with it so much,” she said.
“Then I saw people queuing up and the gallery was constantly crowded to the point where its opening hours were extended.”
Momentum built as the exhibition made its way around Brazil, and by the time it reached Rio, word of Ms Piccinini’s enchanting sculptures had spread like wildfire on social media.
A record 8,340 people a day saw Patricia Piccinini: Consciousness at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in Rio, making it the most popular contemporary art show of the year and the second most-visited exhibition in the world.
“I knew that people were going, and I even knew how many people were going, but I didn’t know in comparison how successful it was,” Ms Piccinini said.
The provocative artist’s success in Brazil wouldn’t have been possible without another international appearance, 13 years earlier: the 50th Venice Biennale.
In 2003, Ms Piccinini featured in the internationally revered art show, sharing her magical transgenic sculptures with the world’s top artists, and with the curator of last year’s Brazilian exhibition.
“He remembered my work in Venice and contacted me to see if I would like to do the show,” she explained.
“That proves the significance and the expansive reach of the Biennale.”
The event also allowed Ms Piccinini to share her masterpieces with perhaps her biggest fans: her family.
Her father hails from a small town called Novellara, just outside Reggio Emilia, and migrated to Sierra Leone where he met her mother, an English woman who was working at a girls’ school in the same area.
Ms Piccinini was born in Sierra Leone in 1965 and a few years later, when the civil war was becoming bloody and violent, the family returned to her father’s hometown in Italy, where they lived for around four years.
However, her mother never felt at home in Italy, and the family decided to move to an English-speaking country, settling in Australia at the end of 1972.
Though Ms Piccinini grew up in Canberra and is now based in Melbourne, Italy still holds a special place in her heart and, in a sense, travelling there for the 50th Venice Biennale meant going home.
“It was so significant to be going back and all of my family and childhood friends came to see me,” she recalled.
“It was an incredibly positive experience because, although I live far away, I could go back home and physically show them what I’m doing as an artist.”
As the 57th Venice Biennale gets under way this month, Ms Piccinini will continue to conquer the world with her work, exhibiting in group shows in Norway and Berlin in June and a solo show in Slovenia in July.
Who knows where this exceptional artist’s unique creations will take her next?!
