The grotesque brainchild of a Geelong office – Graham – has won international acclaim following a regional media awards summit.
The Traffic Accident Commission (TAC) sculpture won the Asia-Pacific Communications Award’s top prize for Campaign by a Governmental Institution on Thursday.
TAC senior manager road safety Samantha Cockfield was thrilled to receive the news Friday morning 28 October.
“Like many of our projects there were so many people involved,” she said.
“Graham was hard work and a brilliant idea well executed. It’s a great credit to the team based in Geelong that we’ve got this internationally renowned work.”
TAC-commissioned sculptor Patricia Piccinini worked with road trauma experts to design Graham, who has evolved the ideal physique for surviving crashes.
Graham’s enlarged helmet-like head and a rib cage with air-bag-type structures helped point out human vulnerabilities in a unique way, Ms Cockfield said.
“Talking to people about why and how you get injured can be so difficult.”
TAC boss Joe Calafiore said the science of human vulnerability underpinned Victoria’s new Towards Zero approach to road trauma reduction.
“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.”
Victorians can interact with Graham online at www.meetgraham.com.au
