Project Graham | |
---|---|
Artist | Patricia Piccinini |
Year | 2016 |
Medium | Silicone, human hair |
Website | http://www.meetgraham.com.au/ |
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 Transport Accident Commission (TAC) of Victoria, Australia, [1] it was meant to symbolize the vulnerability of human bodies in such accidents. [2]
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”. [3]
Piccinini and company created Graham within six months of the initial commission, having spent roughly $149,000 (AUD $200,000) on the project. [2]
The sculpture was displayed at the State Library of Victoria until 8 August 2016, when it was taken on a tour throughout the state. [4] The tour ended in February 2018.
In 2017, Graham received a nomination for the Beasley Designs of the Year award. [5]
A seat belt, also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt, is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduces the likelihood of death or serious injury in a traffic collision by reducing the force of secondary impacts with interior strike hazards, by keeping occupants positioned correctly for maximum effectiveness of the airbag, and by preventing occupants being ejected from the vehicle in a crash or if the vehicle rolls over.
A crash test dummy, or simply dummy, is a full-scale anthropomorphic test device (ATD) that simulates the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body during a traffic collision. Dummies are used by researchers, automobile and aircraft manufacturers to predict the injuries a person might sustain in a crash. Modern dummies are usually instrumented to record data such as velocity of impact, crushing force, bending, folding, or torque of the body, and deceleration rates during a collision.
Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile is a non-fiction book by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, first published in 1965. Its central theme is that car manufacturers resisted the introduction of safety features, and that they were generally reluctant to spend money on improving safety. The work contains substantial references and material from industry insiders. It was a best seller in non-fiction in 1966.
A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Examples include lethal effects to individuals, large radioactivity release to the environment, or a reactor core melt. The prime example of a "major nuclear accident" is one in which a reactor core is damaged and significant amounts of radioactive isotopes are released, such as in the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) was an internal commission convened by NASA to investigate the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-107 upon atmospheric re-entry on February 1, 2003. The panel determined that the accident was caused by foam insulation breaking off from the external fuel tank, forming debris which damaged the orbiter's wing, and that the problem of "debris shedding" was well known but considered "acceptable" by management. The panel also recommended changes that should be made to increase the safety of future shuttle flights. The CAIB released its final report on August 26, 2003.
Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of aircraft and aviation infrastructure. The aviation industry is subject to significant regulation and oversight.
Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are technologies that assist drivers with the safe operation of a vehicle. Through a human-machine interface, ADAS increase car and road safety. ADAS use automated technology, such as sensors and cameras, to detect nearby obstacles or driver errors, and respond accordingly. ADAS can enable various levels of autonomous driving.
A rollover or overturn is a type of vehicle crash in which a vehicle tips over onto its side or roof. Rollovers have a higher fatality rate than other types of vehicle collisions.
Crash is a 1996 Canadian erotic thriller film written, produced and directed by David Cronenberg, based on J. G. Ballard's 1973 novel of the same name. Starring James Spader, Deborah Kara Unger, Elias Koteas, Holly Hunter and Rosanna Arquette, it follows a film producer who, after surviving a car crash, becomes involved with a group of symphorophiliacs who are aroused by car crashes and tries to rekindle his sexual relationship with his wife.
The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) is the statutory insurer of third-party personal liability for road accidents in the State of Victoria, Australia. It was established under the Transport Accident Act 1986.
Patricia Piccinini is an Australian artist who works in a variety of media, including painting, video, sound, installation, digital prints, and sculpture. Her works focus on "unexpected consequences", conveying concerns surrounding bio-ethics and help visualize future dystopias. In 2003, Piccinini represented Australia at the 50th Venice Biennale with a hyperrealist sculpture of her distinctive anthropomorphic animals. In 2016 The Art Newspaper named Piccinini with her "grotesque-cum-cute, hyper-real genetics fantasies in silicone" the most popular contemporary artist in the world after a show in Rio de Janeiro attracted over 444,000 visitors. Natasha Bieniek's portrait of Piccinini was a finalist for the 2022 Archibald Prize.
Vehicular automation is the use of technology to assist or replace the operator of a vehicle such as a car, truck, aircraft, rocket, military vehicle, or boat. Assisted vehicles are semi-autonomous, whereas vehicles that can travel without a human operator are autonomous. The degree of autonomy may be subject to various constraints such as conditions. Autonomy is enabled by advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) of varying capacity.
Hyperrealism is a genre of painting and sculpture resembling a high-resolution photograph. Hyperrealism is considered an advancement of photorealism by the methods used to create the resulting paintings or sculptures. The term is primarily applied to an independent art movement and art style in the United States and Europe that has developed since the early 1970s. Carole Feuerman is the forerunner in the hyperrealism movement along with Duane Hanson and John De Andrea.
The Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) is a research institute in the injury prevention field. The centre is located at the Clayton Campus of Monash University in Victoria, Australia.
The Hurt Report, officially Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, was a motorcycle safety study conducted in the United States, initiated in 1976 and published in 1981. The report is named after its primary author, Professor Harry Hurt.
Hugh DeHaven was an American pilot, engineer and passive safety pioneer. DeHaven survived a plane crash while training as a Royal Canadian Flying Corps pilot during the First World War, and became interested in improving human survivability in vehicle crashes. He has been called "Father of Crash Survivability".
A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Traffic collisions often result in injury, disability, death, and property damage as well as financial costs to both society and the individuals involved. Road transport is statistically the most dangerous situation people deal with on a daily basis, but casualty figures from such incidents attract less media attention than other, less frequent types of tragedy. The commonly used term car accident is increasingly falling out of favor with many government departments and organizations, with the Associated Press style guide recommending caution before using the term and the National Union of Journalists advising against it in their Road Collision Reporting Guidelines. Some collisions are intentional vehicle-ramming attacks, staged crashes, vehicular homicide or vehicular suicide.
The European Campaign for Safe Road Design aims to influence the European Union to make safe road design a European transport priority and save unnecessary deaths on Europe's roads. The campaign is a partnership between 28 road safety stakeholders from across Europe, claiming that a formal safe road infrastructure initiative could reduce the number of killed and seriously injured by 50,000 per year in less than a decade, saving 0.5% of GDP - €50 billion, saving at least 300 deaths and serious injuries per day. The European campaign builds on the UK Campaign for Safe Road Design which has worked to influence the UK government since 2008.
LastObject is a Danish manufacturing company, based in Copenhagen that sells sustainable products online and in retail globally. Having been launched in 2016, it launches new products through crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The company is best known for producing LastSwab, a reusable cotton swab.
On 23 May 2021, an aerial tram on the Stresa–Alpino–Mottarone Cable Car crashed to the ground after a traction or haulage cable snapped about five metres (16 ft) from the summit of Mottarone, a mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. Normally, a hydraulic safety brake would have stopped the runaway car immediately but the cable car was operating illegally with the brake disabled. The crash killed fourteen passengers in the cable car, and seriously injured one child.