These Hyperrealistic Human Sculptures by Ron Mueck Make You Feel More Alive

Ron Mueck's hyperrealistic human sculptures make you feel as if you are invading someone else's intimate moments. Some of them are deliberately disconcerting, but looking at them makes you feel more alive and self-aware.

Ron Mueck is an Australian artist that shifted his focus from the film production to the fine arts. His sculptures illustrate the artist’s attempt to portray the cycle of life, from infancy to the different stages of adulthood.

Mask II
2001-2
A self-portrait that appears to be real, responding to gravity by sliding downward.

Mask II

A Girl
2006
The monumentality of this sculpture reflects the enormity of the moment.

A Girl

Couple under an Umbrella
2013
An internal moment of affection between the two. The interdependent poses of the figures emphasize the strength and complexity of partnerships built over time. Every sign of aging underlines the fullness of the life.

A couple under an Umbrella

Two Women
2005

Two Women

Seated Woman
1999

Seated Woman

Man in Blankets
2000
From a distance, this sculpture may seem to portray a small infant wrapped in blankets. Up close, however, the figure within is revealed to be an adult man, rendered at a much reduced scale, reminding us of the inevitable cycle of life and death, and the need of comfort in the face of this awareness.

Man in Blankets

Mother and Child
2001-2003

Mother and Child

Still Life
2009
Mueck renders his subject with unflinching realism, capturing the distinct texture of plucked and slashed skin, as well as the pull of gravity and the absence of life. The viewer knows its superiority and is humbled.

Still Life, 2009

Man in a Boat
2002
The man, stripped bare, is traveling from the physical world into the unknown. Like all of us, he launched into the sea of life without a map to navigate through.

Man in a Boat

Woman with Shopping
2013

Woman with Shopping

Youth

2009

Youth

Crouching Boy in Mirror
1999-2002

Crouching Boy in Mirror shows Mueck's continuing fascination with adolescence, as well as with the self-consciousness that comes with the growing awareness of sexuality and identity.