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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

More about In the flesh artists

In the flesh
 

The exhibition features work from Jan Nelson, Natasha Bieniek, Patricia Piccinini, Juan Ford, Petrina Hicks, Ron Mueck, Yanni Floros, Sam Jinks, Michael Peck and Robin Eley.

10 portraits
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Walking in tall grass, Lucy, 2010 by Jan Nelson
Untitled, 2013 by Natasha Bieniek
Unsettled dogs, 2012 by Sam Jinks
Adams Apple, 2013 by Petrina Hicks
Look Closer, 2013 by Yanni Floros
The Long Awaited, 2008 by Patricia Piccinini
Omega, 2013 by Robin Eley
The Reorientalist, 2013 by Juan Ford
Wild Man, 2005 by Ron Mueck
Recruit (Self Portrait in the image of my son), 2012 by Michael Peck
1 Walking in tall grass, Lucy, 2010 by Jan Nelson. 2 Untitled, 2013 by Natasha Bieniek. 3 Unsettled dogs, 2012 by Sam Jinks. 4 Adams Apple, 2013 by Petrina Hicks. 5 Look Closer, 2013 by Yanni Floros. 6 The Long Awaited, 2008 by Patricia Piccinini. 7 Omega, 2013 by Robin Eley. 8 The Reorientalist, 2013 by Juan Ford. 9 Wild Man, 2005 by Ron Mueck. 10 Recruit (Self Portrait in the image of my son), 2012 by Michael Peck.
Walking in Tall Grass, Marion 2, 2011 by Jan Nelson
Walking in Tall Grass, Marion 2, 2011 by Jan Nelson
Walking in Tall Grass, Marion 2, 2011 by Jan Nelson
Walking in Tall Grass, Marion 2, 2011 by Jan Nelson

Jan Nelson

Jan Nelson was born in Melbourne. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1983 and has been exhibited her work in both solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia since that time including at the MCA, Sydney, National Gallery of Victoria, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane and the Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide.
Rose, 2011 by Natasha Bieniek
Rose, 2011 by Natasha Bieniek
Rose, 2011 by Natasha Bieniek
Rose, 2011 by Natasha Bieniek

Natasha Bieniek

Born in Melbourne, Natasha Bieniek began her formal artistic training at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2002.  Bieniek’s When the music’s over (2006) won the Nino Sanciolo Art Prize, a painting scholarship to study at the Accademia d’Arte in Florence, where she learnt the ancient technique of egg tempera.
Unsettled dogs, 2012 by Sam Jinks
Unsettled dogs, 2012 by Sam Jinks
Unsettled dogs, 2012 by Sam Jinks
Unsettled dogs, 2012 by Sam Jinks

Sam Jinks

Born in Bendigo, Victoria, Sam Jinks’ work can be found in various public collections that include the Kiran Nader Museum of Art, Dehli, India and the Museo Escultura Figurativa Internacional Contemporaenea (MEFIC), Portugal.
Adams Apple, 2013 by Petrina Hicks
Adams Apple, 2013 by Petrina Hicks
Adams Apple, 2013 by Petrina Hicks
Adams Apple, 2013 by Petrina Hicks

Petrina Hicks

Petrina Hicks has exhibited widely throughout Australia, and internationally, including Germany, Spain, France, Italy, USA and Japan. Her work was selected for screening in the 17th International Videobrasil (2011) and featured in Pingyao International Photography Festival, China (2010).
Look Closer, 2013 by Yanni Floros
Look Closer, 2013 by Yanni Floros
Look Closer, 2013 by Yanni Floros
Look Closer, 2013 by Yanni Floros

Yanni Floros

Yanni Floros is an Adelaide based artist who trained at the National Art School in Sydney graduating as a sculpture major. Since then he has shown his work both locally and internationally in Berlin, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
The Long Awaited, 2008 by Patricia Piccinini
The Long Awaited, 2008 by Patricia Piccinini
The Long Awaited, 2008 by Patricia Piccinini
The Long Awaited, 2008 by Patricia Piccinini

Patricia Piccinini

Patricia Piccinini was born in Sierra Leone and grew up in Canberra. She received a BFA from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne in 1991. In 1994 she initiated The Basement Project Gallery in Melbourne, which she coordinated until 1996. Her 2003 exhibition We Are Family represented Australia at the 50th Venice Biennale.
Omega, 2013 by Robin Eley
Omega, 2013 by Robin Eley
Omega, 2013 by Robin Eley
Omega, 2013 by Robin Eley

Robin Eley

Robin Eley studied Fine Arts at Westmont College, USA and began his career as a professional illustrator. Eley was a finalist in the Eutick Memorial Still Life Prize in 2010 and his work was Highly Commended in the Doug Moran Portrait Prize in 2010 and 2011.
The Reorientalist, 2013 by Juan Ford
The Reorientalist, 2013 by Juan Ford
The Reorientalist, 2013 by Juan Ford
The Reorientalist, 2013 by Juan Ford

Juan Ford

Juan Ford received a Master of Art, by research, from RMIT University in 2001. His many commissions include the National Gallery of Victoria’s interactive work You, me and the flock for Melbourne Now 2013/2014 and a project for Hotel de Immigrantes, a project in Manifesta 9, the European Biennale in 2012.
Wild Man, 2005 by Ron Mueck
Wild Man, 2005 by Ron Mueck
Wild Man, 2005 by Ron Mueck
Wild Man, 2005 by Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck grew up in Melbourne and began a career in puppetry and special-effects based in the US and then London. In the mid-1990s Charles Saatchi commissioned four major works including Dead dad, which were exhibited in Saatchi’s exhibition ‘Sensation’ at the Royal Academy, London and which travelled to Berlin and Brooklyn.
Recruit (Self Portrait in the image of my son), 2012 by Michael Peck
Recruit (Self Portrait in the image of my son), 2012 by Michael Peck
Recruit (Self Portrait in the image of my son), 2012 by Michael Peck
Recruit (Self Portrait in the image of my son), 2012 by Michael Peck

Michael Peck

Born in Melbourne in 1977, Michael Peck has a Bachelor of Fine Art (honours) (Painting) from Monash University. He has exhibited as a solo artist since 1998, when he won the National Gallery of Victoria’s Trustees Award.
In the flesh
More about In the flesh
More about In the flesh artists

Related information

Divide, 2011 by Sam Jinks
Divide, 2011 by Sam Jinks
Divide, 2011 by Sam Jinks
Divide, 2011 by Sam Jinks

In the flesh

Previous exhibition, 2014

In the flesh is an enthralling and immersive experience of contemporary art that confronts the concept of humanness and the experiences of consciousness and emotion. Featuring ten Australian artists including Jan Nelson, Patricia Piccinini, Ron Mueck and Michael Peck, the exhibition explores themes of intimacy, empathy, transience, transition, vulnerability, alienation, restlessness, reflection, mortality and acceptance.
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