Project Graham (also Graham and Meet Graham) is a lifelike figure depicting what a
human would look like if the species evolved to survive
car crashes. Created as part of a
road safety campaign for the Australian
Transport Accident Commission (TAC), it was meant to symbolize the vulnerability of human bodies in such accidents.
History
In 2016, the TAC commissioned
Melbourne-based artist Patricia Piccinini to collaborate with
trauma surgeon Dr. Christian Kenfield, as well as Dr. David Logan, a crash investigation expert at
Monash University Accident Research Centre, on “Project Graham”, a lifelike sculpture for their
public safety campaign “Towards Zero”.
Piccinini and company created Graham within six months of the initial commission, having spent roughly $149,000 (AUD $200,000) on the project.
The sculpture was displayed at the
State Library of Victoria
State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...
until 8 August 2016, when it was taken on a tour throughout the state. The tour ended in February 2018.
In 2017, Graham received a nomination for the
Beasley Designs of the Year award.
[https://www.beazley.com/Documents/2017/20170816-Beazley-Designs-of-the-Year-press-release-shortlist.pdf ]
References
Road safety campaigns
21st-century sculptures
2016 sculptures
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