Edinburgh: Royal Scottish Academy Exhibit

Ron Mueck is an Australian native with a highly creative past. Now most recognized for his hyper-realistic sculptures, this has not always been the case. Before he journeyed into making these unbelievably realistic sculptures, Mueck was a puppeteer, making puppets for Jim Henson's "Muppets" and also having a hand in Labyrinth in the late 80's as the voice of Ludo. Mueck opened a studio in London, England, where he calls home and developed a love for special effects, model-making, animatronics and photo-inspired realistic props. During this time he became very concerned about making his props look real, which was hard considering that they weren't complete models. In fact most were only ½ finished with a messy constructional look on the other side. In 1997 at an art show called, The Sensation, Mueck had a breakthrough; he created a piece of art which grieved the loss of his father. This sculpture was of a tiny man, lying dead on the floor. It was titled, "Dead Dad" and caught a lot of attention in the media. Since then Mueck has had sculptures all around Europe and has proven to be one of the most intricate, powerful and unique artists of our time. Craig Raine of The Guardian wrote, "...Ron Mueck's sculptures are also understated. It is this that gives them their unsettling power." I could not agree with this more.