Ron Mueck

I was recommended to look at the work of Ron Mueck, known for his large and very life-like human sculptures. Trained as a puppeteer and model maker he entered the realm of fine art with a desire to make very realistic sculptures. There's lots of comment around his work, both critical and appraising, also opinions like "his imaginative figurative sculpture speaks directly but also poetically to fundamental and universal concerns: how did we get into these isolating skins; what is it to be a person, touching others but still separate?" I don't know about that to be honest, but what really caught my attention me was looking at these photographs of his sculptors in situ.

I was very taken aback when seeing them for the first time and suddenly realising that what could have been a human was in fact a huge sculpture, and the little people observing it – they were the real ones. Just from looking at these small images of the exhibition, really provoked a strong reaction in me. And although I found it very disorientating and disconcerting, I have to say I really got a buzz out of it. I wonder if seeing the sculptures in the flesh would have a similar effect, or is it the discreetness of these small photos that is key to evoking shock and surprise. 

Either way, Mueck's work is very relevant to my own, because again of this use of scale to alter perceptions – to 'throw off' the viewer, and when it's done with the subject as the human body, that is particularly impacting. This process, this ability, is something which greatly enthuses me. I can't say how well I have achieved it with my macro work, I may of only started to find it in certain images, or even just in elements of certain images, but I think it is a very valid concept to continue considering as this work develops.