Mini Nude, Plucked Chicken Star in Ron Mueck London Show

A middle-aged woman carries a huge bundle of rough, scratchy-looking twigs clasped close to her naked body. Every detail -- her toenails, her hair, the red striations on her skin caused by the twigs -- is so convincing that you could almost think she was alive.

Except that she isn’t realistic at all because she’s less than half the size of a normal human being. This is “Woman with Sticks” (2008), one of four pieces in a show of new work by the sculptor Ron Mueck at Hauser & Wirth London, 23 Savile Row (through May 26, prices start at 500,000 pounds or $807,100).