Overview:
This sculpture, comprising nine large sculptural components and one rock of unhewn marble, presents the human embryo throughout the stages of its development, each sculpture representing one month in its gestation. The work explores the idea of life emerging from the material world and references Michelangelo's famous, unfinished sculpture Slaves (commonly referred to as the Dying Slave and the Rebellious Slave), made for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Quinn says this sculpture is “about how matter becomes alive”. Like The Complete Marbles series, the work was carved under Quinn’s direction by traditional stonemasons in Pietrasanta, Italy using scans of real embryos and clay models.
