British Museum Statuephilia Exhibition includes Ron Mueck's 'Mask II'.

From 2nd October to 25th January, 2009, the British Museum is exhibiting Ron Mueck's 'Mask II' as part of its Statuephilia Exhibition in London.

Born in Australia in 1958, Mueck began creating his scrupulously detailed sculptures in the 1990s.

Through his detailed works, which can be either smaller than life-size or monumental, Mueck explores our concepts of reality through imitation, artifice and illusion. His pieces are sculpted with polyester resin (fiberglass) and silicone, which is more flexible and allows easier shaping of body parts and the implantation of hair.

After working in Australian television as a puppet maker, Ron Mueck went to Los Angeles in 1986, where he was involved in film, television and advertising. He also worked for Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, creating models and special effects. He later moved to London.

For the last ten years, he has focussed on his highly realistic sculptures which have been shown in solo exhibitions at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., the Nationalgaleries im Hamburger Bahnhoff in Berlin, and the National Gallery in London.

(Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Europe