ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ

In our series of contemporary exhibitions at the Theseus Temple, this year we are presenting Man in a Boat, a work by the acclaimed Australian sculptor Ron Mueck that was created during a residency at the National Gallery, London, in 2000–2. In the late 1990s, Mueck caused a sensation with his detailed sculpture of a prostrate naked man, a depiction of his own dead father (Dead Dad). The verisimilitude of this work has become something of a trademark of Mueck’s oeuvre and references the artist’s first occupation: before he transitioned to fine art, Mueck made models and special effects for films and advertisements.

Mueck creates his sculptures in a traditional manner. Using photographs, press cuttings or life models, he begins with three-dimensional preparatory studies that eventually lead to a plaster cast. For the actual artwork he uses polyester and acrylic resins as well as fibreglass compounds; with the addition of hair and paint, these materials allow him to create highly veristic surfaces. At the same time Mueck imbues his figures with a powerful psychological expression. But his manipulation of scale turns them into unreal intermediate beings. As though taken from a surreal story, they seem to address the viewer directly, drawing us into their space, and confront us with Mueck’s primary subject: the human body and the subsequent contingency of man’s existence.