We are nourished by the unknown: Patricia Piccinini

Gow Langsford is delighted to present We are nourished by the unknown, the gallery’s inaugural solo exhibition by Australia-based artist Patricia Piccinini.

A key inclusion in We are nourished by the unknown is The Bridge, a 2023 work originally commissioned by the Muse Brugge in Belgium. The work exemplifies Piccinini’s process and concerns, empathetically examining our relationships with other creatures and hybridity. The composition recalls the reclining figure of the injured man in renaissance depictions of the Good Samaritan, except in this case the subject is a human/pig chimera. The creature is both abject and sympathetic, and the relationship we see is one of care. Piccinini reflects on the work, “For me this is a positive and open-hearted work, strong but still optimistic. Strange perhaps but not exclusionary. It is a work about care and connection which are values that remain as vital in the present as they were in the past.”

Piccinini produced The Bridge in response to works in the collection of the Museum Sint-Janshospitaal in Bruges, Belgium in 2023. The museum is situated in a 12^th Century Hospital, and it hosts a collection exploring the theme of care and caring. Tapping into that theme, Piccinini created this work, responding to other works in the collection. She states, “I saw an amazing opportunity here to respond directly to a work from the collection itself, and I was particularly struck by Lancelot Blondeel’s painting of the Good Samaritan.”

“In the biblical context, the Samaritans were ‘others’, foreigners who were disparaged and scorned. Yet in this story it is the Samaritan who cares for the injured man even though he knows that it would be unlikely that he would get the same care if the tables were turned. This is a story about someone placing the importance of care so high that he ignores the boundaries between people. You can see why this story has a place in the hospital, and it also really resonates with me. In my work we see a similar image of care, although in this case it is the boundary between species that is being ignored.” The effect is striking, evoking a sense of empathy towards the chimera, which could well otherwise conjure apprehension or uneasiness.

The Bridge is exhibited alongside a range of other works including The Pacifist, The Protégé, and Safely Together. These works operate similarly, drawing compassionate responses from viewers in spite of the strangeness of their chimerical appearances. For instance, the features of The Pacifist and The Protégé appear infant-like, potentially eliciting parental protectiveness in viewers.

In addition to these silicone sculptural works, We are nourished by the unknown includes a number of glass works and works on paper, showcasing some of the depth of Piccinini’s remarkable artistic practice.