I picked up this particular
BBC» video news item (from Australia)
only because the name Graham appeared in it.
From
the BBC:
Graham - the unforgettable face of Australian road safetyMeet Graham - according to his creators he has the perfect body to survive a car crash.The incredibly lifelike sculpture was commissioned as part of an Australian road safety campaign.
He has a head shaped like a boulder, feet snarled like tree roots and a chest like a wrinkled battering ram.
Renowned artist Patricia Piccinini created the artwork, in collaboration with a leading trauma surgeon and a road crash investigation expert.
The Transport Accident Commission (
TAC▸ ) said he was designed to highlight human vulnerability on the road.
Graham has a thick strong skull, a neck that melts into his torso and an inflatable chest that acts like airbags.
He was made using silicone, glass fibre, resin and human hair.
"I really listened and internalised the science of it and then I approached it in a creative way, on an emotional level," Ms Piccinini told the ABC. "The eyes are where the work is, it's where the viewer can really connect with him and empathise."
Joe Calafiore, the chief executive of TAC said that people "can survive running at full pace into a wall but when you're talking about collision involving vehicles, the speeds are faster, the forces are greater and the chances of survival are much slimmer. Cars have evolved a lot faster than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve every aspect of our roads system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes."
There's no secret behind Graham's name. It was a working title that stuck, according to the TAC, because he's just a normal Australian bloke.
He can be viewed at the State Library of Victoria and
viewed online.
