Hasta La Motion!

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC), a road safety organisation in Victoria, Australia, has launched ‘Graham’, an interactive lifelike sculpture demonstrating human vulnerability. Royal Melbourne Hospital trauma surgeon Christian Kenfield and Monash University Accident Research Centre crash investigator David Logan briefed Melbourne sculptor Patricia Piccinini to develop Graham. Graham has been designed with bodily features that might be present in humans if they had evolved to withstand the forces involved in crashes. Studies have shown that the human body can only cope with impacts at speeds people can reach on their own, unassisted by vehicles. The TAC Meet Graham installation is on show at the State Library of Victoria until August 8, before going on a roadshow. The public can also interact with Graham online at www.meetgraham.com.au. Google Tango, the latest in immersive augmented reality technology, is used to take viewers beneath Graham’s skin and better understand how his unique features would work to cushion him from serious injury in a crash. School curriculum has also been developed to enhance the learning experience for students visiting Graham in person or online.

“People can survive running at full pace into a wall but when you’re talking about collisions involving vehicles, the speeds are faster, the forces are greater and the chances of survival are much slimmer,” TAC chief executive officer Joe Calafiore said. “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.”

TAC Meet Graham Credits

The TAC Meet Graham campaign was developed at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne by executive creative director Ant Keogh, creative directors Stephen de Wolf and Evan Roberts, designer Patricia Piccinini, working with TAC CEO Joe Calafiore and Google Creative Agency lead Ross Jauncey. The experiential augmented reality component was developed at Airbag Productions.