Old Woman in Bed (2000): Ron Mueck. Photograph: Julie Clarke, 2010
I saw the Ron Mueck exhibition at NGV International today. Although I was astounded by his hyper-realistic sculptures, which actually reminded me of the exquisite mastery of another Australian sculptor, Sam Jinks, I was most affected by Mueck's Old Woman in Bed (2000). Her tiny fragile body, perhaps no larger than a new born babe lies on its side in what can only be perceived as foetal position. Her fragile existence is obvious, her eyes are partly opened and her mouth gapes as if this is her final breath. There's just a hint of wetness in her nostrils, indicating that she is alive, but barely so.
It's easy to forget that these sculptures are are made from Silicone rubber, polyester resin, cotton, polyurethane foam, polyester and oil paint, and the whole time I was looking at her I just wanted to reach out and hold her close to my chest and somehow comfort her in what appeared to be her last moments. The young girl standing next to me at the exhibition appeared distressed and when I cried - for I could no longer hold my face like I was unaffected, she cried with me. I knew that the whole time I was looking I was thinking of the last time that I saw my grandmother in hospital before she died. She had lost a lot of weight and was about a third of her size, tiny, fragile and in pain, but still concerned that the child in the next room was crying and needed help.
There's definitely a sinister and grotesque quality to the pieces in this exhibition. An extremely over-sized newborn baby has blood on its skin and its umbilical chord still attached, two old women who stand close together, appear to be plotting the downfall of another who they watch with disdain, a small, naked man in a boat looks out with an extremely cynical look on his face, a giant of a man, also naked, leers at us as we look at the blemishes on his body. A disembodied head depicts a strange smile from a man who appears recently decapitated.
I really enjoyed this exhibition, it plays with scale and confronts us with life and death. It reveals the human side of human nature that we generally don't see, and Mueck has captured all the nuances displayed on the face and on the subjects bodies.
It's easy to forget that these sculptures are are made from Silicone rubber, polyester resin, cotton, polyurethane foam, polyester and oil paint, and the whole time I was looking at her I just wanted to reach out and hold her close to my chest and somehow comfort her in what appeared to be her last moments. The young girl standing next to me at the exhibition appeared distressed and when I cried - for I could no longer hold my face like I was unaffected, she cried with me. I knew that the whole time I was looking I was thinking of the last time that I saw my grandmother in hospital before she died. She had lost a lot of weight and was about a third of her size, tiny, fragile and in pain, but still concerned that the child in the next room was crying and needed help.
There's definitely a sinister and grotesque quality to the pieces in this exhibition. An extremely over-sized newborn baby has blood on its skin and its umbilical chord still attached, two old women who stand close together, appear to be plotting the downfall of another who they watch with disdain, a small, naked man in a boat looks out with an extremely cynical look on his face, a giant of a man, also naked, leers at us as we look at the blemishes on his body. A disembodied head depicts a strange smile from a man who appears recently decapitated.
I really enjoyed this exhibition, it plays with scale and confronts us with life and death. It reveals the human side of human nature that we generally don't see, and Mueck has captured all the nuances displayed on the face and on the subjects bodies.
GROSS!!!!!!
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