Big mother
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- Place made
- Melbourne
- Medium
- silicone, fibreglass, leather, human hair
- State
- 2/3
- Dimensions
- 175.0 cm (height)
- Credit line
- 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
- Accession number
- 20094S6
- Signature and date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Media category
- Sculpture
- Collection area
- Australian sculptures
- Copyright
- © Patricia Piccinini
-
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.