En Garde by Ron Mueck

 

Ron Mueck, En Garde, 2023.

Ron Mueck’s En Garde is one of those sculptures that is deceptively simple but profoundly affecting. Its power comes from several layered artistic, psychological, and technical choices that together provoke a deep, often visceral response. As is typical of his work, Mueck plays with scale deftly. The sheer size of dogs immediately establishes dominance. They tower over the viewer who is left feeling small and exposed. But the poses of the dogs are not straightforward. They appear uncertain, almost hesitant and their exaggerated scale heightens this psychological tension. They are protectors, predators, and projections of our own animal instincts all in one.

The sculptures hyperreal quality adds yet further tension. Too lifelike to be dismissed as objects yet not quite human, they become a space for existential process, acting as mirrors for our own psyche. This in part due to his exceptional craftsmanship which allows him to blur the line between truth and lie. 

Ultimately, En Garde is powerful because of the tensions inherent in the work. The viewer is placed in a contradictory space that is tender yet violent,  real and unreal. And so it confronts us with ourselves. The title En Garde is a fencing term that suggests readiness for combat: literal, emotional, and existential. It is aptly named.

Reflecting on this work reinforces my choice to create my dog screen-prints on a large scale.