Big mother

The story of a female baboon whose baby had died while still being breastfed inspired the creation of this iconic sculpture by the prominent Australian artist Patricia Piccinini. The primate mother, overwhelmed by grief, had abducted a human infant as a substitute. Big mother depicts a genetically engineered animal – with studded blue leather saddlebags at her feet, as if on the run – wet-nursing a newborn. Perhaps fleeing the scene, the maternal figure cradles the child and meets the viewer’s gaze with desperation and fear. This powerful work sits within the Western art tradition of mother-and-child subjects, although here the mother – part-human, part-animal – emphasises the strength of a mother’s love across different biological species. Big mother reflects on more-than-human relationships and interspecies connections. It also questions the distinctions between human and non-human subjects, and the reaches of genetic research.

Patricia Piccinini is well known for her hyper-real sculptures of imaginary creatures, those that could potentially be produced through genetic engineering. The artist is keenly interested in how ideas of nature and the artificial and synthetic are changing our society, with her practice having considered these complex ethical issues for over two decades.

The acquisition of Patricia Piccini’s Big mother was one of the first works of art supported by the generosity of the Art Gallery of South Australia Contemporary Collectors donor program.

Patricia Piccinini’s Big mother depicts a genetically engineered primate wet-nursing a human child and was inspired by a story of a female baboon whose baby had died while still being breast-fed. The primate mother, overwhelmed by grief, abducted a human infant as a substitute.

The work sits comfortably within the Western art tradition of mother and child subjects, although here the mother – part-human, part-animal – emphasises the strength of a mother’s love across difference biological species. Big mother questions fixed distinctions between human and non-human subjects, reflecting contemporary genetic research.

A leading Australian artist, Patricia Piccinini is well known for her minutely detailed visions of imaginary creatures produced through genetic engineering. Piccinini is keenly interested in how contemporary ideas of nature, the natural  and the artificial are changing our society  and consequently she frequently creates acutely aesthetic works as a means of discussing these complex ethical issues.

Leigh Robb, Curator of Contemporary Art