Patricia Piccinini is one of Australia's leading contemporary artists. She was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and arrived in Australia in 1972 with her family. She initially studied economic history before enrolling at art school in Melbourne. After studying painting at the Victorian College of the Arts, she rapidly established a reputation for her work dealing with topical social issues, especially those concerned with bio-engineering and human reproduction.

She enjoys exploring what she calls 'the often specious distinctions between the artificial and the natural'. The concepts that underpin modern science, such as genetic engineering and other forms of biotechnology, are of particular interest to her.

Piccinini has embraced a wide array of materials in her work and moves across multiple media forms: these include still, computer generated images, interactive CD-ROMs, immersive video and sculptural installations, and most recently, film. Piccinini often works by commissioning specialist collaborators from various fields of contemporary industrial manufacture. She is well known for her bio-morphic silicon sculptures, minutely detailed visions of imaginary creatures brought into the world through genetic engineering.

Piccinini has an ambivalent attitude towards technology and she uses her artistic practice as a forum for discussion about how technology impacts upon life. She is keenly interested in how contemporary ideas of nature, the natural and the artificial are changing our society. Specific works have addressed concerns about biotechnology, such as gene therapy and ongoing research to map the human genome. Piccinini often creates acutely aesthetic and appealing works as a means of discussing complex ethical issues; she is also fascinated by the mechanisms of consumer culture.

Text by Tracey Lock, Curator of Australian Paintings and Sculpture, 2009

Through the realism of photography, moving image, sculpture, drawing and installation, Piccinini takes us into a world that is not so different from our own.' She invites us to contemplate our place within a time - our time - when biological and digital technologies are challenging the boundaries of humanity. Piccinini's practice has been described as transversing three orbits - the biosphere, the autosphere and the atmosphere - each of which in turn reflect her investigation of biotechnology, car culture and the construct of nature within contemporary society. The themes that inform her practice occur are ultimately a story about finding beauty in a world that can never be perfect.

The tenor of Piccinini's work is one of hope - that we will use our capacity to make change for the better. She reminds us that sinister forces and tensions are ever-present, from capitalist motivations, to the unknown outcomes of human-assisted evolution. Her underpinning message is, however, that we should not abandon what we initially judge to be frightful or hideous. By demonstrating that we are on the cusp of living Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Piccinini prompts us to recall how it was the continual rejection, torment and prejudice against the monster that pushed him to renounce humankind and take revenge against his creator. If we are to avoid the tragic fate of Frankenstein and hi monster, we must show greater compassion and tolerance towards one another and all living things. Perhaps only then will the world be fine tonight'

Piccinini awakens our minds and emotions to the possibility of a genetically modified and transgenic (where genes from one species are inserted into the genetic material of another species) world. Since the mid- 1990s she has taken audiences on a journey to the fringes of existence, leaving them there to contemplate their humanity, their prejudices against difference, the ethics of biotechnology and the hopes - or fears - they assign to medical science. Piccinini's interest has never been whether such technologies are right or wrong, or in the actual processes of biochemistry and molecular biology, but rather whether society will accept the progeny of scientific intervention when it does not conform to the idealised image promised by gene therapy.

In recent years, the focus of her work has begun to shift. While incorporating many of the same issues and concepts, Piccinini's critique has expanded to include an investigation of evolutionary biology and how the machine - that invention that now dominates contemporary society - may, by developing animalistic patterns of behaviour, become a sentient and autonomous being. Although her work is primarily optimistic, in that she celebrates the wonder and diversity of creation, it does contain dark undercurrents. The utopia promised by new technologies sits uncomfortably within Piccinini's work and we are compelled to consider human destiny in the face of a post-human world.

Humankind cannot control life or evolution; we may manipulate its various elements by altering the environment or creating new life forms, but we cannot control or predict the outcomes of our interference. Hence, if society chooses to customise life, we need to understand that we are answerable for the outcomes.

Piccinini presents audiences with what may initially be perceived as the flawed, the hideous or the grotesque. Her work could arguably be seen as irrational and futuristic, the product of a mind obsessed with Hollywood's version of sci-fi. Such a sensationalist reading of Piccinini and her work, however, is misplaced. Her practice has far greater nuance and compassion. Fundamentally opposed to Hollywood's fiction, she draws inspiration from existing technologies and events reported in the media. Since the birth of the first in-vitro fertilisation baby in 1978, the world has continued to witness monumental developments in genetic science, from the first cloned animal (Dolly the sheep) in 1996, to the complete draft mapping of the human genome and the creation of the first synthetic organism (SOl) in 2000. From this context of tissue engineering, genetic modification and the creation of synthetic life forms, Piccinini's creatures have emerged.

Text by Jane Messenger, originally published in 'Patrica Piccinini: Once upon a time'.. catalogue, 2011.

Patricia Piccinini, born Freetown, Sierra Leone 1965, Big mother, 2005, Melbourne, silicone, fibreglass, leather, human hair, 175.0 cm (height); Gift of S. Angelakis, John Ayers, Candy Bennett, Cherise Conrick, James Darling AM and Lesley Forwood, Rick Frolich, Frances Gerard, Patricia Grattan French, Stephanie Grose, Gryphon Partners Advisory, Janet Hayes, Klein Family Foundation, Edwina Lehmann, Ian Little, David And Pam McKee, Dr Peter McEvoy, Hugo and Brooke Michell, Jane Michell, Paul Taliangis, Michael and Tracey Whiting and anonymous donors through the Art Gallery of South Australia Contemporary Collectors 2010, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Patricia Piccinini.

Inquiry and Skills

  • Pose questions to investigate people, events, places and issues (ACHASSI073
  • Interact with others with respect to share points of view (ACHASSI080)
  • Work in groups to generate responses to issues and challenges (ACHASSI102)
  • Examine different viewpoints on actions, events, issues and phenomena in the past and present (ACHASSI099)
  • Develop appropriate questions to guide an inquiry about people, events, developments, places, systems and challenges (ACHASSI094

Citizenship, diversity and identity

  • How values, including freedom, respect, inclusion, civility, responsibility, compassion and equality, can promote cohesion within Australian society (ACHCK052 )

Analysis, synthesis and interpretation

  • Critically analyse information and ideas from a range of sources in relation to civics and citizenship topics and issues (ACHCS056)
  • Account for different interpretations and points of view(ACHCS085)

Problem-solving and decision-making

  • Appreciate multiple perspectives and use strategies to mediate differences (ACHCS057)
  • Recognise and consider multiple perspectives and ambiguities, and use strategies to negotiate and resolve contentious issues (ACHCS086)

Ethical Understanding (Cross Curriculum Priority)

Patricia Piccinini's work encourages us to consider ethical dilemmas. While they may seem far from reality, these works of art help students to understand what it means to be empathetic and consider possible ethical questions that could arise in their lifetime.

Big Mother

Patricia Piccinini, born Freetown, Sierra Leone 1965, Big mother, 2005, Melbourne, silicone, fibreglass, leather, human hair, 175.0 cm (height); Gift of S. Angelakis, John Ayers, Candy Bennett, Cherise Conrick, James Darling AM and Lesley Forwood, Rick Frolich, Frances Gerard, Patricia Grattan French, Stephanie Grose, Gryphon Partners Advisory, Janet Hayes, Klein Family Foundation, Edwina Lehmann, Ian Little, David And Pam McKee, Dr Peter McEvoy, Hugo and Brooke Michell, Jane Michell, Paul Taliangis, Michael and Tracey Whiting and anonymous donors through the Art Gallery of South Australia Contemporary Collectors 2010, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Patricia Piccinini.

Piccinini’s Big Mother is a realistic looking sculpture that explores ideas of motherhood, care and compassion. It is made of silicon, fibreglass, leather and human hair. This work is inspired by a true story about a female baboon whose baby died and feeling sad and lonely, the baboon took a human baby to care for. The lifelike creature is tall like a human but has a baboon-like features. Despite the large scale of the figure, she gently holds and feeds a human baby, showing love and tenderness just like humans do. The baby is calm and safe in the arms of Big Mother. This work encourages us to be empathetic, and highlights the bonds that unite all living beings, regardless of appearance.

Big Mother is hauntingly real, inspiring feelings of trepidation and awe that evoke the sublime. In part, the grotesque detailing of the mother, in contrast to the exquisite beauty of a newborn baby, creates this; for example, the stained, coarse and unsightly toenails by comparison with the silky, soft smattering of hair. We relish the detail of the work, which is simultaneously repulsive and beguiling.

A sense of unease gradually descends upon us and our emotional response to the work is heightened as we observe the fragility and vulnerability of life cradled in the arms of a life force we cannot control, since at any point the mother could unleash a furious assault if the child is threatened. But perhaps most disquieting of all is that we are witness to the evolutionary process and we see our own humanity reflected in Piccininis chimera, both physically and emotionally. We see ourselves (many of us for the first time) as the 'other'.


This work is inspired by two events in Piccinini's life. The first is a true story about a female baboon whose baby died and feeling sad and lonely, the baboon took a human baby to care for. Despite the large scale of the figure, she gently holds and feeds a human baby, showing love and tenderness just like humans do. The baby is calm and safe in the arms of Big Mother. This work of art encourages us to be empathetic, and highlights the bonds that unite all living beings, regardless of appearance.

The second came from the difficulties Piccinini had breat-feeding her son Hector. "He really didn't want to suck which made it hard to get the milk going and so my sister suggested I try breast feeding her baby, who was older and more hungry. I tried, and through breast feeding my sisters baby I learned how to feed Hector. It was really interesting how strange and unusual it is for a mother to breast-feed another person's baby. Even stranger perhaps is how much more comfortable we are drinking the breast milk of another animal – say a cow – than another human being."[1]

By experiencing the emotions presented so palpably in Big Mother, we, the human audience, begin to see the boundaries between human and animal disappear. The feelings and instincts of Piccinini's animals, regardless of how they have evolved, are equal to our own. Piccinini thus prompts us to consider the validity of the hierarchy we impose, a hierarchy that continues to privilege human over non-human animals, and domesticated animals (such as pigs and dogs, which she deliberately references in her creatures to remind us of their' artificially' selective breeding) over the transgenic beings and chimera developed in laboratories, Should all animals have the right to equal consideration because, as the ethicist Peter Singer has argued, 'if an animal feels pain, the pain matters as much as it does when a human feels pain - if the pain hurts just as much. Pain is pain, whatever the species of being that experiences it'?

When looking at the work we can imagine different stories: is this mother a specially engineered primate who has been bred to be a wet nurse? Is she some kind of helper, carer or babysitter?

[1] Patricia Piccinini, Big Mother, https://www.patriciapiccinini.net/writing/50, 2005

  • Why is Big Mother so sad? If Big Mother could talk, what do you think she would say to you about being a mother?
  • How can we encourage empathy in order to influence our world in positive ways in the future?
  • What is your first impression on looking at this sculpture? Does your impression change as you walk around the sculpture and examine it more closely?
  • Piccinini is interested in notions of family. Discuss in class your interpretation of family, or what constitutes a family in contemporary – or future – society?
  • How does this particular depiction of ‘nurturing,’ both physical and emotional, question what it is to be human?
The Lovers

Patricia Piccinini, born Freetown, Sierra Leone 1965, The lovers, 2011, Melbourne, fibreglass, automotive paint, leather, scooter parts, 202.0 x 205.0 x 130.0 cm; Roy and Marjory Edwards Bequest Fund with the assistance of Colin and Robyn Cowan through the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation 2011, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, © Patricia Piccinini.

The lovers cleverly mixes the appearance and features of animal and machine. It combines the shape of the popular Italian motor scooter, the Vespa, and the muscular form of a male deer, a stag. A hybrid form is created. Piccinini has ‘imagined’ two scooters behaving as animals – as stags fighting, perhaps over territory, or females, as animals do in the wild. there is a remarkable sense of movement achieved in the sculpture, with the shiny sinuous bodies seeming to twist and writhe. one stag is clearly dominant, the other appearing almost to cringe in defeat. the defeated stag looks bewildered – look closely at its ‘dial’! The work raises issues about what is natural, and what is mechanical, and about power and hierarchies in groups or communities. Who will survive: the fittest, the strongest, those bred for particular conditions? The work also reflects another of Piccinini’s favourite themes: consumerism. In Italy, Vespas are seen as symbolic of style and class - they are very desirable, even though not always practical.

  • Imagine what would happen in our world if machines became ‘human’! Talk about this possibility with a classmate. Choose a machine from your home or shed, and show in a drawing how it could become ‘human'.
  • Create a series of photographic images of mechanical objects and using a computer program, imagine an animate your favourite image as an animal. Consider how it's shape and form may influence the type of movements it makes.
  • Research developments in medical science / technology where new mechanical interventions and attachments are improving the lives of sick or disabled people.

More works by Patricia Piccinini in the collection