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“Patricia Piccinini is an artist of our time and gives visual form to some concepts that concern us all mainly the scientific ethics of the use of stem cells and cloning. Her work is confronting and even shocking.” This statement is interesting, firstly, in that it is not grammatically correct. Therefore, it can be interpreted in many ways. My own personal interpretation of this statement is that it is true – to a certain extent. Patricia Piccinini is an artist of our time – and some of her works do mainly focus on the ethics of embryonic stem cell usage, cloning, and genetic manipulation. However, the ways in which her works are confronting, or shocking, can be explored in many ways. One of the works that I found most interesting was the first one that I encountered – Still Life with Stem Cells, a sculptural work depicting a young girl, startlingly real to life, playing with objects clearly identifiable as humanoid by their shape and human characteristics – a depiction of the manipulation of undifferentiated stem cells. A question that must be posed regarding this work however, is that of Piccinini’s choice in the manifestation of her subject matter. Why is it a little girl playing with the embryonic stem cells, why are the stem cells portrayed so hideously?
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