Weird Sculptures and Installations From Around the World

Let’s keep the snickering to a minimum as the following entry contains an array of realistic anatomically correct sculptures which many of you are likely already familiar with. We’re speaking of course about the work of Australia-born hyperrealist Ron Mueck. It is virtually impossible to pick out just one work for discussion from Mueck’s large body of remarkable pieces. Mueck's sculptures are well known for their extreme detail of every last inch of the human body (literally). As you’ll note from the images in this section, Mueck often plays with the scale of his figures to elicit stunning imagery.

He is often praised for creating beings with a life and emotion all their own. Viewers almost always describe his work as shockingly realistic.

Mueck began his sculpting career as a model maker and puppeteer for kid’s television shows and the 1986 film Labyrinth. He eventually established his own prop making company in London where he crafted photo-realistic animatronics for advertising companies. However, the call of the fine art world was far too great and by 1996 Mueck officially made his historic jump. Over the last decade exhibitions of Mueck’s awesome sculptures have appeared throughout the world. Below are several of his most famous and iconic sculptures...

Mask II

Mother and Child

In Bed

Wild Man

Youth

Boy

Big Man

Patricia Piccinini’s hyperrealist sculptures are sometimes confused with the work of fellow Australian born Ron Mueck. Although Patricia uses a range of media such as painting, video, sound and digital prints we’ll be taking a look at some of her amazing sculptures. Patricia’s work is often described as either dark or disturbing by those with weak stomachs. Her sculptures focus on world issues such as modern science, engineering, bioethics and biotechnology. For example, check out the following image which we’re sure many of you have seen before around the web. Possibly it’s been forwarded to you in an email from a sick friend wildly insisting “IT’S REAL!”

Yeah…wow.

The image above is from a New York exhibition called "Nature's Little Helpers." The title of this particular sculpture is Young Family and it depicts human-dog hybrids suckling their mother. A somewhat uncommon sight unless you happen to live in a town which houses a leaky nuclear power plant. Here are several more samples of Piccinini’s customized creature sculptures for your viewing pleasure…or displeasure…

Big Mother

Surrogate

The Embrace

The Long Awaited

Foundling

Figure from Leather Landscape

Written by Anthony Quaglia – Copyrighted © www.weirdworm.com Image Sources