Ron Mueck: Uncanny, Curious, and Awesome An expert in psychology breaks down Mueck's show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales

By Lisa A Williams

I recently experienced Ron Mueck: Encounter at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. I have no training in art appreciation or history, and I went with minimal prior knowledge about Mueck’s work or the pieces in the exhibit.

I had, however, heard his works are psychologically evocative. So I approached the experience with an open mind, and a social psychologist’s inquisitiveness.

If I had to choose three words to capture my naive experience, they would be uncanny, curious and awesome. I’ll explain.

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Rounding out the trio of characteristics of my experience is awe: the emotion experienced when we witness something outside our understanding, often vast or complex. The experience is wonder and amazement.

Mueck’s works dance in the space between possible and impossible, just beyond the line of comprehension. I lost count of how many times I thought in wonder, “How did he do that?”

It’s unfathomable to me that someone can create something so very lifelike and evocative. To consider the skill required to produce his pieces was a process of expanding my own mind.

Speaking now as a positive emotion researcher, I think the key to the impact of Encounter rests in what we know about the outcomes of experiencing awe.

This unique emotion shifts the way we think about the world, creating what’s been coined the “small self effect”. In awe, we feel smaller in relation to the world around us. This change in perspective is powerful. It prompts curiosity and critical thinking. Awe also drives a desire for social connection, a sense of satisfaction with life and generosity.

By evoking awe, Mueck is shifting the way people see and interact with their worlds. That is powerful indeed.