The National Gallery of Victoria is going from strength to strength at the moment, with new record-breaking numbers at their key exhibitions, and the current Ron Mueck, on show at the St Kilda Road location, will be no exception.
This incredible exhibition brings together the largest collection of Mueck works seen in his homeland.
His disturbingly detailed representations of people in both large and small scale force an inspection of the human form most of us would normally balk at. Upon entering the show, which one could suggest is curated in a linear fashion to replicate the physical processes of life and existence upon which his works often focus, girl (2006) brings you within inches of a 30cm-long, new born’s vagina, and other pink bits, boldly proclaiming the realities of the human form which our think of the children, pedophobic, moral-panic culture would normally rush to censor.
Thrown out of the womb we are then taken on a journey through states of physical being, are brought up close to, and then also weighed down by, the gravity of aging, and these spooky realisms are then abruptly disjointed by abstract interlocutions, further intensifying the reality of our own physicality.
Mueck comes from a background in film prop making, and actually worked on the set of Labyrinth. Filmic hyperreality permeates his style. It’s unsettling, and provokes a new sense of corporeality. An unmissable exhibition you won’t forget.
Packed with images and information about many of his works, the catalogue, at only $40, is also definitely worth the purchase.
Ron Mueck on Artabase

Ron Mueck Born Australia 1958 - A girl 2006 polyester resin, fibreglass, silicone, synthetic hair, synthetic polymer paint, second edition, artist’s proof 110.0 x 501.0 x 134.5 cm Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh Purchased with assistance from The Art Fund, 2007 © Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London Photo: Antonia Reeve

Ron Mueck Born Australia 1958 - Dead Dad 1996–97 (detail) silicone, polyurethane, styrene, synthetic hair, ed. 1/1 20.0 x 38.0 x 102.0 cm Stefan T. Edlis Collection, Chicago © Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London Photo : Michael Tropea

Ron Mueck Born Australia 1958 - Dead Dad 1996–97 (detail) silicone, polyurethane, styrene, synthetic hair, ed. 1/1 20.0 x 38.0 x 102.0 cm Stefan T. Edlis Collection, Chicago © Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London Photo : Michael Tropea

Ron Mueck Born Australia 1958 - Woman with sticks 2008 (detail) silicone, polyurethane, steel, wood, synthetic hair, ed. 1/1 (170.0 x 183.0 x 120.0 cm) Private collection © Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London Photo : Mike Bruce

Ron Mueck Born Australia 1958 - Woman with sticks 2008 silicone, polyurethane, steel, wood, synthetic hair, ed. 1/1 (170.0 x 183.0 x 120.0 cm) Private collection © Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London Photo : Mike Bruce

Ron Mueck Born Australia 1958 - Two women 2005 polyester resin, fibreglass, silicone, aluminium wire, steel, wool, cotton, nylon, synthetic hair, plastic, metal, ed. 1/1 82.6 x 48.7 x 41.5 cm (variable) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2007 © Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London

Ron Mueck Born Australia 1958 - Wild man 2005 polyester resin, fibreglass, silicone, aluminium, wood, horse hair, synthetic hair, ed. 1/1 285.0 x 162.0 x 108.0 cm McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Langwarrin Purchased by the Elisabeth Murdoch Sculpture Foundation and The Balnaves Foundation, 2008 © Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London Photo Mark Ashkanasy

Ron Mueck Born Australia 1958 - Wild man 2005 (detail) polyester resin, fibreglass, silicone, aluminium, wood, horse hair, synthetic hair, ed. 1/1 285.0 x 162.0 x 108.0 cm McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Langwarrin Purchased by the Elisabeth Murdoch Sculpture Foundation and The Balnaves Foundation, 2008 © Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London Photo Mark Ashkanasy