Ron Mueck started his professional career as a puppet-maker and puppeteer for Australian television. In the mid-1980's he began working for Jim Henson on Sesame Street and films such as Labyrinth. He then worked for himself, fabricating models for television and print advertising. His Rabelaisian figures were used in campaigns for air freshener, toilet paper, spirits and peanut butter. He has since given up puppets and other commercial work to pursue sculpture.

All of Mueck's work is made from clay models that are then cast in fiberglass or silicone and resin. One of his most striking works to date is a sculpture of his deceased father - Dead Dad (1996). To commemorate his father's death, an event which he did not witness, Mueck created an exact replica of his father's naked corpse.