BASEL, Switzerland—We've been both entranced and repulsed by Patricia Piccinini's cuddly, nightmare creatures for years (when her work is on view in New York, we find ourselves having sleepless nights, then returning for a second look at those irresistible faces and frighteningly deformed bodies—teddy bears left in a toxic waste dump).

So we expressed surprise when we stopped by the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (Sydney). The booth's centerpiece was a Piccinini sculpture of an anthropomorphic motorcycle looking adoringly at its baby motorcycle. The gallery told us that while Piccinini is best known in the United States and Europe for her endearingly gruesome creatures, her career has long consisted of two separate strands; she is equally well-known in Australia for her work focused on automotive-derived themes. (Piccinini was born in Sierra Leone and arrived Down Under at the age of seven.)

The motorcycle piece (Nest, 2006) sold for €86,500.