Go behind-the-scenes with Patricia Piccinini in her Melbourne studio
Summary
TLDRThe video script delves into the intersection of the artificial and natural, exploring the relationship between humans, technology, and the environment. It discusses the creation of an 'alternative world' that blends the cultural with the organic, featuring contemporary fables and a balance of aesthetic and narrative. The artist collaborates with Patricia, developing ideas through drawing, sculpture, and installation, aiming to provoke thought and empathy. The work is influenced by surrealism and social realism, reflecting on the impact of science and technology on society. The exhibition invites viewers to engage with the artist's dreamlike landscape, challenging perceptions of separation and encouraging connection and empathy.
Takeaways
- 🌿 The artist's work explores the intersection of the artificial and natural, focusing on relationships between humans and the environment, and among beings.
- 🎨 The artist has been collaborating with Patricia for several years to create an alternative world that blends the cultural and natural, technological and organic.
- 🤔 The artwork often poses big questions and aims to make viewers contemplate what it means to be alive, reflecting on the balance and relationship with the world around us.
- 👩🎨 The creative process involves starting with drawings and evolving ideas into various forms such as sculptures, videos, or installations, depending on the best medium for expression.
- 🤝 The artist and Patricia have complementary skills, with the artist focusing on the practical and technical aspects, while Patricia brings theoretical and big-picture insights.
- 🌱 The studio, Drom, serves as a platform for the artists to realize their visions, evolving from outsourcing to an in-house team of skilled collaborators.
- 🎭 The artist is influenced by surrealism and 19th-century social realism, appreciating the attempts to represent social reality during times of change and the emotional depth of these movements.
- 🧪 The work often engages with scientific themes, exploring the ethical and moral implications of advancements in fields like stem-cell research and genetic engineering.
- 🌼 The artist is creating a dream-like landscape for an exhibition, featuring a field of 3,000 transgenic flowers, each with organs, representing a fusion of nature and technology.
- 🔍 The artist invites viewers to look beyond the strangeness of their creatures to find empathy and connections, challenging the barriers that separate different forms of life.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the artist's work?
-The main theme of the artist's work revolves around the relationship between the artificial and the natural, humans and the environment, and beings within families and strangers. It explores a symbolic representation of a place where technology has become so natural that it takes on a life of its own.
How long has the artist been working with Patricia on this project?
-The artist has been working with Patricia for at least three or four years on this project.
What is the significance of the expression on the artwork featuring the artist?
-The expression on the artwork is significant as it conveys a meaning and a story within a narrative, while also possessing an aesthetic sensibility.
What does the artist mean by 'contemporary fables'?
-By 'contemporary fables,' the artist refers to stories that are imaginative, engaging, and often contain big questions or lessons, potentially making us realize what it is to be alive.
How does the artist's role differ from that of the studio team?
-The artist's role is to look after the idea and ensure the final artwork stays true to the vision that animates it, while the studio team assists in transforming the idea into a physical form.
What is the significance of the balance in the artwork featuring the elegant plant body?
-The balance in the artwork symbolizes the relationship between beings and everything that has evolved around us, suggesting a connection and interaction with the world.
How does the artist's work relate to art history?
-The artist is drawn to surrealism and 19th-century social realism, both of which are movements that attempt to represent social reality during times of dramatic change.
What is the process of creating the artwork like from conception to completion?
-The process involves conception through thinking and drawing, followed by collaboration with the studio team to transform the idea into a physical form, which may include雕塑, video, or installation.
Why is the hair-plugging process so crucial in the artwork's final stage?
-The hair-plugging process is crucial as it brings a sense of life to the artwork, with curls and patterns that mimic the natural look on the body, enhancing the realism and emotional connection of the piece.
How does the artist use science in their work?
-The artist uses science as a dominant language to explain the world and explore the edge of scientific possibilities, often incorporating themes of technology, genetics, and the moral implications of scientific advancements.
What is the purpose of the exhibition featuring the artist's work?
-The purpose of the exhibition is to invite viewers into a dream landscape filled with creatures, promoting connection, empathy, and a reflection on the barriers that separate us.
Outlines
🌿 Exploring the Interplay of Art and Nature
The speaker discusses their fascination with the relationship between the artificial and natural, humans and the environment, and the dynamics within families and among strangers. They describe creating an alternative world that intersects with reality, where technology and nature blend seamlessly. This 'wilderness' symbolizes a place where technology is so integrated it appears organic. The speaker has collaborated with Patricia for several years on a project that explores these themes, aiming to create contemporary fables that provoke thought about what it means to be alive. The artwork is meant to balance aesthetic sensibility with narrative depth, often featuring a sense of balance and interconnection with the evolved world around us.
🎨 The Creative Process and Artistic Evolution
The speaker and Patricia have been working together, evolving their creative process from initial ideas to finished art pieces. They discuss the importance of not being constrained by traditional methods like mold making, which allows for a more innovative approach to problem-solving. The studio, Drom, serves as a platform for their creative endeavors, fostering a familial atmosphere with long-term collaborators. The speaker draws inspiration from surrealism and 19th-century social realism, appreciating their attempts to represent social reality during times of change. Patricia's work is highlighted for its visual impact and the way it invites viewers to look beyond its strangeness to find deeper connections and empathy. The upcoming exhibition is described as an immersive dream landscape filled with creatures and new works that challenge and engage the audience.
🤖 The Intersection of Art and Science
The speaker delves into the role of science in their artistic practice, viewing it as the modern language for explaining the world. They discuss the ethical and moral questions surrounding scientific advancements, such as stem-cell research and IVF, which Patricia's work often explores. The artist's mission is to examine how science transforms our world and provokes various responses. The speaker emphasizes the importance of the viewer's relationship with the artwork, which often involves a sense of connection and empathy. The process of creating the art, including mold making, coloring, and hair styling, is described as intricate and collaborative, with each step being crucial to the final outcome.
🌼 The Final Touch: Hair and the Life It Brings
In the final paragraph, the focus shifts to the importance of the final touches in the art creation process, particularly hair. The speaker describes the meticulous process of hair styling and its significance in bringing the sculptures to life. The hair not only adds a sense of realism but also contributes to the emotional impact of the artwork. The speaker reflects on the interconnectedness of all elements in their work, where even the most abstract pieces maintain a connection with the viewer. The exhibition is portrayed as a place where boundaries blur, and the audience is encouraged to question traditional separations and embrace connection and empathy.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Relationship
💡Alternative World
💡Contemporary Fables
💡Balance
💡Surrealism
💡Evolution
💡Empathy
💡Intermingling
💡Transgenic
💡Stem-Cell Debates
💡Intrinsic Coloring
Highlights
Exploration of the intersection between artificial and natural, humans and environment, and beings within families and strangers.
Creation of an alternative world that exists just beyond the real world, blending the cultural and the natural, the technological and the organic.
Artistic expression through contemporary fables that provoke thought about innocence and what it means to be alive.
The importance of balance and the relationship between beings, reflecting on our connection to everything that has evolved around us.
The collaborative process between the artist and Patricia, working together for years to develop a unique artistic vision.
The significance of aesthetic sensibility in addition to narrative and meaning in the artwork.
The evolution of artistic expression from traditional painting and drawing to incorporating sculpture, video, and installation.
The role of the artist in overseeing the transformation of an idea into a physical artwork, ensuring it stays true to its original vision.
The use of a studio of people to bring artistic ideas to life, highlighting the importance of collaboration in the creative process.
Influences from surrealism and 19th-century social realism in the artist's work, reflecting social reality during times of dramatic change.
The artist's approach to creating work that is not dogmatic, inviting a variety of responses and provoking empathy from the audience.
The process of creating molds and the importance of design in the production of sculptures.
The challenge of working with complex forms and the collaboration required to solve problems in sculpture production.
The development of a specific technique for intrinsic coloring within the mold, emulating the transparency of skin.
The artist's interest in science as a dominant language for explaining the world and the exploration of the ethical implications of scientific advancements.
The use of hair in the artwork to bring a sense of life and authenticity to the sculptures, reflecting the patterns of the human body.
The concept of connection and empathy at the heart of the artist's practice, challenging the barriers that separate us.
The exhibition as an invitation into the artist's dream landscape, bringing together a collection of creatures and new works.
Transcripts
I'm interested in relationships the
relationship between the artificial and
the natural between humans and the
environment the relationship between
beings within families and between
strangers over the years I have built up
a sort of alternative world that exists
just beyond the real world that we live
in it's strange but it's familiar at the
same time it exists as moments objects
and images that overlap with the real
world in a world where the cultural and
the natural the technological and the
organic are evermore intermingled this
wilderness is my symbolic representation
of a place where technology has become
so natural that it takes on a life of
its own
I've been working with Patricia for at
least three or four years on this
project it's been something that the
gallery has been talking about for a
long time the moment seems right at this
point I like the expression on this one
as well it's me it's quite important
that these words have a meaning and a
story in a narrative but they also have
these aesthetic sensibility to see this
beautiful cascading hair she's
constructing I would say contemporary
fables innocence that was the beginning
of the work tables are really intriguing
stories they're really imaginative
they're really engaging but they often
have the big questions often have some
lessons potentially if they make us
realize what it is to be alive it's not
every artist that can do that and the
other part of this work is the sense of
balance this beautiful elegant plant
body is not quite straight but it's a
balancing and we wonder what's he doing
and we realized that they have a
relationship like we have a relationship
to everything that's evolved around us
he's probably got some rolling in the
way this this creature reproduces itself
she's always looking out to the world
she's always finding your inspiration
and sometimes it can be hard to keep up
but the new work I really like
[Music]
my work is about ideas and it starts
with thinking and drawing I realized
pretty early on that I wasn't going to
be able to do everything I wanted to do
with painting and drawing I started to
look for another way to work I've
assembled this amazing studio of people
I start with drawing and as I develop
the idea I start to think about how it
might be best expressed sometimes it
stays the drawing but often I might feel
a sculpture or a video or an
installation would work better I then
work with the studio to transform the
idea into a thing my role is to look
after the idea to make sure the final
artwork stays true to the vision that
animates it it's impaired like having a
child there is conception and then
there's the birth and in between there's
a lot of amazing stuff that goes on that
people don't see this form is an
opportunity for you to see that
[Music]
so that's quite lovely I love his little
head I think this one's really working
I'm very excited about this one yeah I
love it I really love this skin tone
this kind of contrast because both the
skin tones on their own look very
realistic and when you put them together
you see this amazing kind of contrast
between the two Patricia and I met in a
share house in Newtown in the late 1980s
I guess one of the things that makes our
relationship work is that we're both
good at very different things
I bring that practical technical sort of
side to things whereas she's very much
the theoretical thoughtful big-picture
kind of um kind of person make the
sharper that one yeah let's do that I
come to us looking at ideas and then we
walk on them from their version and then
it can evolve yep into into something
like that yeah so this is the very basic
just throwing forms together we pose it
in this way that it looks it looks like
it's got feeling it really evolves here
doesn't know they said I think one of
the things about the way Patricia and
Dennis work is they aren't thinking
about making molds no and maybe if you
are more well-versed oh you're thinking
more about mold making you just wouldn't
go there you just go oh that's got to be
such a pain
whereas Patricia of Dennis they go there
and then and so it sort of means that
yeah yeah we aren't actually constrained
by what's gonna be easy to make but also
the thing of working this way means we
can I've got a lot of options in terms
of how we can solve problems as well
[Music]
drom is the studio that patricia and i
found it when we left university it's
very much about providing us with the
platform to build the works that we want
to make we used to go completely out of
house for the production of the
sculptures for example but over the
years we've pulled in an amazing sort of
team of people that we can work with
here
it's very familial we work with the same
people for forever really as much as we
can in terms of art history I'm drawn to
surrealism and 19th century social
realism they're very different but for
me both of these movements are attempts
to represent social reality at a time of
dramatic change the Surrealists engaged
with the cutting edge of technologies of
photography and psychoanalysis in a way
that went beyond reproducing the
objective appearance of reality
and tried to get to it's subjective core
and I love the humour and emotion and
strangeness of all the work
what I like about Patricia's work is
that it's it's not it might seem obvious
in that it has this great visual impact
but you never sure what exactly the
comment or the message is and that's
what I love about her work its
strangeness but also its refusal to be
dogmatic about things and often it's a
matter of asking yourself why you
respond to work in a certain way there's
a lot of beauty in her work and there's
even beauty in some of the grotesque
works that I also have been very
repelled by the work and it's meant to
provoke all those variety of responses
but I think people respond to her work
because there's a lot of empathy in her
when you put eyes in there become yeah
they sort of tip over into it
where's these are much more
technology-based creatures yep yeah
they're not they don't have if I what's
going to be very important about this go
in the show Patricia described it to me
as inviting people into her dream
landscape and it will be because she's
made so many creatures and they're all
being brought together as well as new
works that are going to be spectacular
destined close to finish on on that wand
finishing this and then working out what
where the tits on that she's creating
3,000 flowers that grow organs
it's going to be this field of these
wild transgenic flowers 3,000 of them I
love the sound of the field the grotto
the eerie the diorama she is creating a
whole world of experience perience and
the word creatures comes from Middle
English it means literally something
created my creatures are just that
they're imaginary beings that are almost
possible they're not always
traditionally beautiful but they always
have beauty and an honesty within them
they're more vulnerable than threatening
people sometimes find their strangeness
of putting it first but they usually
learn to see past this the creatures
literally appeal to the audience's
empathy they entreat the viewer to look
beyond their strangeness and see the
connections the model is a really key
part of making the work and if the mold
doesn't work the rest of production is
just a nightmare
so often will consult with Fiona very
early on in the process to sort of
really design the mold and in fact
sometimes we'll work backwards and
forwards between the sculptor and the
mole making just to sort of get a an
object that can be molded so it's a
really kind of complicated process that
involves a lot of collaboration
now how many pieces were there in that
time involved for the mother it was like
sixteen to seventeen pieces but that's
like any head baby heads and hands and
so that like it really can't
underestimate just how kind of complex
these jobs are and every way that the
bodies interact have you know have any
impact on where you've got to put these
seams and where you kind of make this
part so that you can pull the whole
thing apart or even just get into a turn
to be able to fill it with with the
product so that you get the cast out
it's
so my role involves intrinsic coloring
it's something that's used by a lot of
different artists and technicians but
it's something that we've developed a
specific technique for the work that
Patricia does what it involves is
building up a paint job within the mold
using silicon and using a lot of
different transparent layers of color to
emulate the transparency within the skin
I get brushes with all different kind of
pinks and greens and rawr birds and I
paint them inside a silicon mold
internally and then we back it up with
different transparencies of silicon and
then pour the cast and then I do the
airbrushing where I kind of airbrush on
veins and freckles and then kind of
build build up the skin tone on the
surface and giving it like a stun
damaged frankly I'm interested in
telling stories about the world we live
in and that's why I'm interested in
science because science is the dominant
language used to explain the world to us
in the past it was religion myth but now
it's science that explains how the world
works and also becomes the expression
for how we want the world to be or how
we might fear it will end up at the very
edge of science we end up talking about
how the world might be
and that's a wonderful place for an
artist to explore I encountered
Patricia's work and around the time I
was writing my book there was
extraordinary amount of controversy
around the stem-cell debates because of
IVF when a woman would go to the IVF
clinic she would typically have maybe
ten of her eggs fertilized but often
there were five fertilized embryos or a
certain number left over so the debate
in Australia at that time was but
instead of throwing out those embryos we
can use them to make these embryonic
stem cells which could then be used to
generate this raw material for perhaps a
new pancreas or or whatever tissue a
patient needs to be radiation resistant
to be cancer resistant all of that we
will know how to do so what is the
appropriate moral response there so
these are questions we have to examine
it and that's Patricia's mission she's
never been a dystopian she takes that
Sciences are given and that the way
science transforms the world we live in
is a given and she's compelled to
explore this
so I think the bottom is holding my work
is never about one thing alone it's
always about a family or an ecosystem
even when a creature is alone there's a
relationship with the viewer back easy
I am the harvester if I have just help
us I'd take men up my attic and that's
where I do the job there's the chest
then we will do some chesty hair armpits
so and if it's an abstract if it's more
abstract than Patricia's drawn pictures
and that's when we have to discuss the
style of hair plugging that colors of
hair how it has to represent itself it's
the last part of the process and really
without this it just wouldn't be
finished in any way and in fact it's so
important the hair get brings so much to
the work it gives us a sense of life and
they're all curling in just you know
like like they do on the body
yeah that's quite incredible things like
that that drives me crazy you know if
they're not cooling in or they're out of
patterns that the body has these
incredible patents don't isn't it
[Music]
this is a world where things mix and
intermingle where nothing stays put in
its place it's a world where animals
plants machines and humans unite and
commingle we have to ask ourselves if
it's so hard to figure out where one
thing starts and our other ends
can we really then continue to believe
in the barriers that separate us
connection and empathy are at the heart
of my practice and at the heart of this
exhibition
many of the works are beings of one sort
of another they're creatures
and I think one of the things that the
work does is that it holds you in an
emotion it gives you the space to feel
it but it doesn't judge you and it's
also saying but they are the subjects
sure they're sculptures but they're not
so objectified they let you know that
you're looking at them and often they
look back at you
[Music]
you
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