The Body as an Endless Source of Inspiration
Five artists I love
Before researching and designing Sensory Augmentation technology I studied special effects makeup and prosthetics design. My interest was always centred around the manipulation of the body — warping the shape, adding new materials and changing the way we and others perceive the body. This eventually evolved into my now pretty all consuming focus on augmenting our senses and how this changes our perceptions. Then and now art and design have always provided me with inspiration for the endless possibilties of how we could evolve and be with new technologies. So here are fiveof my favourite artists who are wickedly smart and talented, and whose projects are both inspiring and beautiful.
LUCY MCRAE
Lucy McRae is a science fiction artist, filmmaker, inventor — and a lovely person. I had the amazing opportunity to work with her early in my career and she definitely inspired some of my research into future technology through design. Calling herself a ‘body architect’, her work explores the future body when affected by emerging technologies, redesigning it and provoking questions around the technologies impacts.
‘Heavy Duty Love’ (pictured) is a sponge-like domestic machine which hugs you to replicate the intimacy of the womb and paternal contact for lab grown future humans. ‘I made this machine because I am curious about the human consequences of bypassing the womb and that first hug of a “mother”’ — says Lucy. Her work also explores topics such as the body in space, isolation, DIY gene-editing and perceptions of beauty.
SARAH SITKIN
Coming from a background in prosthetics design I find the surrealist, exquisitely made silicone pieces by Sarah Sitkin nothing less than awesome. She desconstructs the body and our identity by mixing materials, shapes and forms to create sculptures that sit right in the uncanny valley — being human like enough for us to identify with them but surreal enough to cause a sense of uncomfort and intrigue. The visceral response that her work evokes is something that I strive for in my work as well — no-one wants the audience to see your work and feel nothing.
Her series of ‘Body Suits’ (pictured) explore different real bodies in a non-sexual way. The casts of the torso and genitals of a wide variety of people hang in a gallery and allow the visitors to try them on and experience the new body —
“there were several sessions that had an impact in ways I didn’t foresee; a trans person was able to see themselves with a body they identify with, and solidified their understanding of themselves. a woman chose to wear a male body to confront her fear and personal conflict with it. a young person was able to wear ageing skin to reconnect with the present moment.”
SILVIA B
I came across Silvia B’s work more recently while visiting The Netherlands, and was immediately enthralled. She is a Dutch artist who creates ‘protagonists’ which challenge the constraints put upon us by reality and reveal the deeper intuitive and instinctive layers that lie within us. Fairy tale like, her sculptures act as a mirror refracting surface prejudices and revealing the beauty hidden within.
The protagonist ‘Vino’ (pictured) is part of Les plus Beaux, II — which questions the roles and expectations of gender, androgyny and decadence in the spirit of Lord Byron. Her work is very much about boundaries, confronting and challenging them, which is reflected in her use of juxtaposed human/animal protagonists, mixed with natural materials and put in new contexts — putting the work and the viewer in a position of uncertainty and discomfort.
PATRICIA PICCININI
Patricia Piccinini is another master sculptor who creates hyperrealist sculptures using silicone, fiberglass, leather and human hair. Her work is all about relationships — between the work and the viewer, us and the environment, the artificial and the natural, and families and strangers. The works sit in an ecosystem of sculptures and ideas, an alternative world that she brings into the real world where her creations live. Her warped creatures are a mix of representations but always have a sense of connection and empathy at their heart — the point is always to connect the audience to the piece to find a sense of understanding.
‘Graham’ (pictured) is the only person designed to survive a car crash. The sculptor highlights the human bodies’ susceptibility to extreme damage when in a collision, something we are not designed to experience. ‘Cars have evolved a lot faster than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve every aspect of our roads system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes.’ Graham is what humans would look like if we evolved to withstand a crash, with no neck, reinforced skull, and sacks on his chest to act as an airbag.
SALVADOR DALI
I couldn’t round off my favourite artists without a mention to the Surrealist OG, Salvador Dali. The Spanish Surrealist artist explores the world of dreams and the subconscious to create mesmerising artworks which have inspired me since I was young. A prodigy of the newly formed Surrealist movement in the 1920’s, his work developed alongside the (then) ground-breaking discoveries in psychoanalysis by it’s founder Sigmund Freud, who explored the unconscious as a wellspring of imagination.
‘Woman with a head of roses’ (pictured) has been interpreted in several ways — from the roses representing a distaste for the rich people in the surrealist group, to a fashion illustration, to a representation of female sexuality (flowers are commonly used as a symbol for the vagina). Not just limited to painting, Dali created sculptures, films, and jewellery, and collaborated with fashion designer Elsa Shiaparelli to create surrealist clothing which still epitomises the brand today. Like me the artists above were most likely also inspired by Dali’s manipulation of the body and juxtaposition of content, I’m sure along with millions of others.
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