| Since the 1990s, the term "bio art" has been used when referring to artists who work with living materials, in a way similar to scientists, as a way to comment on life through artistic manipulation. As science and art continue to become interdisciplinary practices, bio art must become a less restricted label and be applicable to works that use living materials as a medium, and as a subject. Under this new definition, this thesis will examine how hyperreal sculptures by artists Sam Jinks, Ron Mueck and Patricia Piccinini can be labeled as bio art, due to three fundamental components. First, is their relationship to hyperreality. Second is their use of silicone and human hair, materials derived from nature that fulfill the materiality requirement of traditional bio art, and finally, is their use of liminal beings as the subjects of their pieces. By tracing the trajectory of hyperreal art this thesis will prove how hyperrealistic sculpture is no longer tied to the banal aspects of existence, and are instead pieces of bio art in the genetic age. |
