Matthew Hardy
Oxley College
GENETIC ENGINEERING - AT WHAT COST?
Sculpture
Oil based polymer clay
The human species considers itself the dominant species, superior in every way, the apex predator. As humans we can critically think, analyse, act accordingly, construct languages, tools, cities and more. However, some still seek to further improve the human species through the manipulation of our DNA. They attempt to forcefully cut, paste and rearrange our incredibly complex structures. Messing with six million years of evolution surely doesn’t come without devastating complications, horrific failures and hideous experimentation. It’s not natural. Why mess with perfection? My body of work explores, through exaggeration, the confronting nightmarish failures and consequences of severe gene alteration.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the artist Patricia Piccinini.
Marker's Commentary
These four grotesque life size busts appear like scientific models that diarise particular conditions the person has been inflicted. The understanding of anatomy and expressive gestures serve to provide a powerful account of genetic engineering on humanity. The austere use of stains on the ceramic forms, monotones and scale only enhances the emotional resonance of each figure, as they appear to be transforming in a horrific metamorphosis. The technical treatment of the forms viscerally conveyed fear of transgenic mutation and potential scientific catastrophe.