At dawn in a park in Fairfield,for the 1000-plus people who gathered to see them take their first flight over Melbourne,they were wondrous,a celebration of life and possibility.
They look like something from a natural history museum. “A lot of my work is about the natural and the instinctual,that’s at the root of what I do,” Piccinini says. “The reason why they are hyper-real is so people can suspend disbelief:did they move,could they be real?”
Created in 2013,the 30-metre-highSkywhale is a symbol of fertility andSkywhalepapa,who came later in 2021,is a nurturing partner,looking after their nine babies. “What he tells us is care is not just for women,it’s not just for humans ... care is the hero in our society,” the artist says.
While a whale in the sky seems bizarre,Piccinini says it’s not so outlandish given “they evolved from small,hooved animals that went into the ocean”.
“They are conscious breathers:they can’t sleep for more than 20 minutes and when they do,they are slightly conscious. That’s an amazing adaptation. It seems quite improbable that they travel this incredible distance. It’s also just as improbable for them to go into the sky but not impossible because they did go into the water.”
She plays with the idea that while evolution went this way,it could have been different:“We are lucky to have evolved with them.”