Lot 284: MIKE BOUCHET (B. 1970)

MIKE BOUCHET (B. 1970)
JACUZZI FOR ROBERT MUGABE
TITLED TWICE 'ROBERT MUGABE MUGABE' (ON ONE SIDE)
CARDBOARD, FIBREGLASS AND PLASTIC
76 7/8 X 70 7/8 X 59 1/8IN. (195 X 180 X 150CM.)
EXECUTED IN 2005

KUNSTRAUM INNSBRUCK, DER SOZIOGRAPHISCHE BLICK 10. MIKE BOUCHET, NEW JACUZZIS-CARMEN ELECTRA, TATJANA GSELL, K. LAGERFELD, JUDE LAW, ROBERT MUGABE, JACK WELCH, SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2005.

L. AJEMIAN AND C. GARDNER, MIKE BOUCHET: SELECTED WORKS FROM 1993-2006, BERLIN 2006 (ILLUSTRATED, P. 55).

GALERIE VALLOIS, PARIS.
ACQUIRED FROM THE ABOVE BY THE PRESENT OWNER IN 2005.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
'MIKE BOUCHET HAS BEEN MAKING HIS JACUZZIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS, DEVELOPING BOTH A PRODUCT IDENTITY AND A SIGNATURE STYLE IN THE PROCESS. THE JACUZZIS ARE FORMED OUT OF SHEETS OF CARDBOARD, WHICH BOUCHET CUTS AND ASSEMBLES TO MAKE COMPLEX JAGGED SHAPES, REMINISCENT OF EXPRESSIONIST FILM SETS OR CRYSTAL FORMATIONS. HE THEN FIBREGLASSES THE INTERIOR, LEAVING THE EXTERIOR UNTOUCHED. THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE SMOOTH, COLORFUL, FIBERGLASS INTERIOR, AND THE ROUGH CARDBOARD EXTERIOR, DECKED WITH LOGOS AND PIECES OF PACKING TAPE, IS CHARACTERISTIC OF BOUCHET'S WORK AS A WHOLE. THERE IS CERTAIN PRAGMATICISM TO HIS WORK PROCESS, A WAY OF TREATING OBJECTS AS MEANS TO AN END, COMBINING BOTH POLISHED AND ROUGH ELEMENTS WITH VARYING DEGREES OF CARE AND DISDAIN' (J. BISMUTH, MIKE BOUCHET: SELECTED WORKS FROM 1993-2006, BERLIN 2006, P. 5).