Think of Patricia Piccinini as a storyteller. For one of her latest works, the Australian artist used recycled materials – like fiberglass, silicone and hair – to create a life-size diorama that transports museumgoers to an imaginary land populated by uncannily realistic creatures that are part human, part animal. As viewers walk the installation, they can listen to audio Piccinini recorded about the characters and their world.
The result is an occasionally unsettling – but also deeply immersive and imaginative – experience that encourages viewers to think differently about the natural world and the way they interact with it. “My works,” Piccinini says, “try to imagine an idea of nature that is no longer understood as being opposed to culture.”
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Interested in experiencing the diorama for yourself? encounters of another plot is currently on display at John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC), in Sheboygan, where it will remain on view until Oct. 29.
Curator Chava Krivchenia says that the diorama, which took two weeks to install and takes up a massive footprint within the JMKAC, has sparked both delight and disgust amongst audiences. “She realistically looks at the effects of the climate crisis,” Krivchenia explains, “while maintaining an element of hope for the future.” The artist’s work is alternately disquieting but inspiring, difficult to understand but easy to relate to.
Piccinini will be in town for the last few days of the exhibition, and the JMKAC – just an hour north of Milwaukee and always free to attend – has created public programming surrounding her visit.
