Patricia Piccinini

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
Private collection, Melbourne

Overall, work is in god condition. Work is laid down an aluminium secondary support and is framed under Perspex.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Patricia Piccinini is one of this country's most important contemporary artists; she represented Australia at the Venice Biennale in 2003.  Her challenging, even disturbing sculptures, photographs and videos explore the themes of nature, culture and technology and their collision in contemporary culture.  

The present work forms part of the installation Sheen, produced in 1998 for the foyer of the Adelaide Festival Centre Theatre.  Piccinini placed five still images along a passageway, funnelling the viewers and patrons towards the theatre and bar.  At the point of this division, an interactive video module played endless laps of a virtual velodrome.  The installation concluded with a cocktail (commissioned by the artist), called a 'Bluebird', named after Donald Campbell's rocket car which broke the land-speed record in 1964 at Lake Eyre, South Australia.

The five still images, titled 1:00.613, depict a fictional character, 'The Speeder', within a virtual velodrome.  'The Speeder' is played by Shane Kelly, a world champion cyclist and world record holder for the men's 1km Time Trial in 1995, 1996 and 1997.  Sheen is a compressed narrative about 'The Speeder' and his interaction with and role within the synthetic environment of the velodrome.  In the present image, the 'The Speeder' hangs in a strange pictorial suspension, creating uncertainty as to just how he is moving, or indeed if he is moving at all.  Piccinini's ambiguous and unsettling image reinforces our doubts about the nature, effects and meanings of contemporary technology, and signals those difficult questions that the artist continues to confront and explore.