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Lot Essay
Ron Mueck has recently staked a major claim on the art world's attention. 'Dead Dad', which was included in the 'Sensation' exhibition at the Royal Academy, drew powerful responses from curators and museums, and Mueck was heralded as the genuine discovery of the show.
To commemerate his father's death, an event which he did not witness, Mueck created an exact scale replica of his father's naked corpse. This inescapably eerie corpse shows every wrinkle and hair in full detail. But its most disconcerting element is its greatly reduced size.
Since then, Mueck has made three 'Big Baby' (1996-1997) sculptures two-foot high, fastidiously detailed infants that crouch on the floor. Their fleshy, white bodies and large gazing eyes are at once calming and sinister. Mueck uses their over-sized scale as a powerful tool in creating a psychological dimension in his work.
To commemerate his father's death, an event which he did not witness, Mueck created an exact scale replica of his father's naked corpse. This inescapably eerie corpse shows every wrinkle and hair in full detail. But its most disconcerting element is its greatly reduced size.
Since then, Mueck has made three 'Big Baby' (1996-1997) sculptures two-foot high, fastidiously detailed infants that crouch on the floor. Their fleshy, white bodies and large gazing eyes are at once calming and sinister. Mueck uses their over-sized scale as a powerful tool in creating a psychological dimension in his work.