// October 23rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Hott Damn!
three words that don’t look good together!

HOTT DAMN!
This really caught my attention y’all!
An unsettling image of what appears at first glance to be a human-dog hybrid suckling her young has become a viral Internet hit for Australian artist PATRACIA PICCININI. The image is actually a picture of a sculpture by Piccinini from a show in 2003.
The artist herself might have preferred a more intellectual appreciation for her work with many Internet users emailing and linking the image for shock value. But hey times are tough and you take what you can get.
The human-dog hybrid is actually what Piccinini calls a “transgenic creature,” created for her 2003 show for the Australian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The work is entitled “The Young Family,” and Piccinini said in a lecture that she was inspired by the prospect of growing human organs in other species.

“I wanted to address the reality of the creatures themselves in a very compassionate way, and show a very beautiful image of motherhood,” she said. “As you can see, she is really caring towards her children and worried about them. The question I raise, that I am interested in, relates to the distinction between human and animal characteristics, not so much her humanity, but the ‘animalness’ in us.”
If you happen to be a little creeped out by her work (and I think a LOT of people are) I think that just speaks to its impact. The realistic qualities of Piccinini’s work force you to think about what these creatures are and what their existence means.
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