The stags 2008

Patricia Piccinini was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and arrived in Australia in 1972. After studying painting at the Victorian College of the Arts, she began to establish a reputation for her work, dealing with topical social issues, especially those concerned with bio-engineering and human reproduction. Employing a wide range of materials and methods, Piccinini often works by commissioning specialist collaborators from various fields of contemporary industrial manufacture. She is well known for her bio-morphic sculptures, minutely detailed visions of imaginary creatures brought into the world through genetic engineering. She also has a keen interest in car culture, particularly customised vehicles, and this is also expressed in her art.

The stags 2008 represents two motor scooters as living animals, a complete synthesis of nature and technology. It refers specifically to the customised Vespas ridden by mods in the 1960s, often embellished with a profusion of mirrors. Like customised vehicles, these scooters have taken on individual identities and are no longer factory-made 'clones'. They are apparently alive and possibly even genetically unique. As Piccinini has said, 'The point of crafting another life is so that you can talk about this one...' Piccinini's creations question what the outcome might be as humanity and technology become ever more entwined.