1. Patricia Piccinini

Patricia Piccinini who was born in Sierra Leone in 1965 an is an Australian artist, who by far blows my mind with her work. Her works ranges from digital prints, drawings and my favorite sculptor and installations.  Piccinini’s art reflects her interest in bioethics (The study of the ethical and moral implications of new biological discoveries and biomedical advances, as in the fields of genetic engineering and drug research.), biotechnologies and the environment. She uses realistic and familiar concepts with unfamiliar identities. I really like how she merges her species with human characteristic, of love and compassion. Piccinini creates to show the coexistence with human beings, instead of lurking in the shadows and being afraid of humans.

Her works have made her a very controversial Austrailan artist, since she in very realistic with her depictions of these creatures. Really wish I could see one of her  installations in person. A couple of prints I did a few years ago, were inspired my Piccinini's creatures.

“What I love is when people argue over what the work is trying to say, when they begin the process of examining the issues from a number of perspectives. I love watching a person move from an initial sense of revulsion against the strangeness of my creations towards a sense of understanding or sympathy. I love it when people realize that all this is actually about our lives today”.            Patricia Piccinini

One of my favriote pieces by Piccinini is The Young Family (image below). It has the features of an animal, but the emotions and position of a tired human laying down. As the mother is worn out the little ones play, just as a child does with their feet, but sucking the milk as a animal would. the attention to every detail, from the hair down the back to the feet that has a thumb, is really cool. 

The Young Family