A controversial but long awaited animatronic sculpture that responds to its audience will be unveiled at the National Art Gallery on Thursday.
At a reported $6.7 million, the work has been touted as a major acquisition for the gallery and will be the first solo presentation of an exhibition by US artist Jordan Wolfson in the country.
It will also mark the global premiere of the work, which has been delayed a number of times, including due to Covid.
Resembling a large-scale mirrored cube with limbs, the sculpture can move around through the use of robotics.
"The intention is that the movement of [Body Sculpture] elicits the viewer to become activated in their bodies and therefore present... It's about seeing ourselves through three-dimensional objects, which is what I believe sculpture as doing," Wolfson said.
Through the work, Wolfson seeks to evoke "emotional and physical responses" in his audience, the gallery said.
"Jordan Wolfson is an artist whose work reflects the situation of the world today," the gallery stated.
"Acting as a witness to the shadow forces within the human condition, Wolfson positions the audience in a physical and moral confrontation with issues facing society and our own place within them."
So confrontational is his work that the gallery has placed an age restriction on the exhibition, advising that the work features mature themes and children under the age of 15 need to be accompanied by a parent of guardian.
Wolfson's new sculpture will be displayed with his earlier work, which has previously sparked anger and disgust.
An earlier exhibition, Coloured Sculpture, depicted an animatronic puppet boy being violently pulled around by chains.
Even before Wolfson's work had been unveiled, it had drawn criticism, an earlier article in the Sydney Morning Herald citing critics as saying the exhibition was a "cultural slap in the face".
But National Gallery Director Nick Mitzevich said the work marked "a milestone in contemporary art".
He described Mr Wolfson's other pieces as "defining works of the past decade, pushing the boundaries of what we expect from a work of art by combining performance, sculpture, robotics and sound to create compelling and unsettling experiences".
