patricia piccinini    Patricia Piccinini's work engages in an ongoing exploration of the concept of nature and responsibility in a society where technology allows scientists to create new life forms and modify the human body at will. She questions also the role of marketing and consumer culture in science and finds our lack of discomfort with the unachievable utopian promises of science troubling. Piccinini offers no judgments in her art, but instead presents situations that act to stimulate discussion and consideration of the ethics and consequences of genetic manipulation.

Though classically trained in painting, Piccinini's works include sculptural, video, sound, installation, and digital aspects as well. Most of her projects are therefore collaborative, requiring the cooperation and skill of other artists and production services to bring to life the creatures and worlds she imagines.

Along these lines, the artist created First Satisfied Customer, a representative work from the Your Time Starts Now section of the artist's Mutant Genome Project, a series of computer-generated photographs and media installations that further explore the issues of genetic engineering and consumer culture. Fascinated by the Human Genome Project's progress and the morally ambiguous possibilities it offers, the artist used computer imaging and photography to generate a "designer baby" she named LUMP (Lifeform with Unevolved Mutant Properties). Designed for ultimate efficiency, LUMP is disease-resistant, highly intelligent, and long-lived, but obviously not human. In her depictions of LUMP, which were modeled on current advertising, Piccinini asks the viewer how they would respond to such a creature. Would they feel disgusted or could they welcome one into their home and enjoy the pleasant qualities it offers?

For the next section of her Mutant Genome Project, Your Time Starts Now, the artist worked with Sophie Lee, an Australian television celebrity, to create a marketing campaign for her creation. The feeling of familiarity the viewer feels towards Lee and the recognizable language of commercial photographic imagery only make the bizarre form of LUMP all the more disturbing. In this work, the artist substitutes herself for Lee, changing the terms of the piece slightly. While also a celebrity, Piccinini holds her own creation with an expression of joy. She is mother and owner and, evidently, the First Satisfied Customer.

--Amanda Shoemaker, MA, Art History, George Washington University