Human-animal hybrids have captured our imagination in mythology and storytelling for thousands of years. But it is only in recent years that the amalgam has become a scientific possibility: in 2017 scientists successfully grew human stem cells in pig and sheep embryos. Scientists call these hybrids chimeras, after the monstrous Greek mythological creature pieced from lion, goat and snake members.
To coincide with the 200-year anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, RMIT Gallery presents My Monster: The Human Animal Hybrid, an exhibition exploring our simultaneous fascination and horror with the fusion of the human and animal.
Curated by Evelyn Tsitas, the exhibition stems from her academic research into the human-animal hybrid in science fiction. Tsitas’ exhibition draws on ideas in humanities, feminism, philosophy, animal studies and the visual arts to examine “the complex issues surrounding human and animal relationships, our interconnectivity, and also how the hybrid form is used as a powerful metaphor”.
Presenting over 20 Australian and international artists whose work features the hybrid in various forms and mediums, My Monster examines the life cycle and narrative of the hybrid across five gallery spaces. Included are works by well-known Australian artists Julia deVille, Lisa Roet, Sam Leach, Sidney Nolan and Peter Booth.
The hybrid is the ultimate symbol of the outsider, tapping into our fear of difference and the Other. Human-animal hybrids disturb our sense of ourselves, leading us to question which fragment is more monstrous.
My Monster: The Human Animal Hybrid
RMIT Gallery
29 June – 18 August
65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art is an extraordinary account of the unique art of this continent, published alongside a landmark exhibition at the Potter Museum of Art. Necessary and urgent, it tells the story of Indigenous Australian art; a new art history unlike anything we’ve seen. For Jane O’Sullivan, it’s a remarkable and must-read book.
In a new series of illustrated postcards available as a free gift with purchase only at the Art Guide Bookstore, Oslo Davis takes on classic and contemporary art terms and genres and reimagines what they could be referring to.
With so much to choose from, we’ve rounded up the major summer exhibitions in each capital city, open all summer long. Spanning Yayoi Kusama, Magritte, the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, and many more.
In two new exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, René Magritte and Cao Fei speak to each other across cultures and eras about the way that perception can unsettle reality—and the places the real intersects with the surreal.
In a new collaborative exhibition at PS Art Space, in partnership with Cool Change Contemporary, five artists with process-lead practices contemplate material ethics through actively engaging in slowness and reuse.
The growing cultural interest in art books reflects the enduring power of the printed word. Jane O’Sullivan takes a closer look.
