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This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods Ltd
Christie Manson & Woods Ltd
8 King Street, St. James's, London, SW1Y 6QT, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 2869
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Lot Essay
An eerily lifelike banana skin lies discarded, browning and askew. Vaseline Onirique (2006), like Gilles Barbier’s recurring use of his own ageing likeness over twenty-five years and his famed series of elderly superheroes, seems to speak of the inevitable pathos of the passage of time. Through his conceptual practice, however, it becomes something of a talisman: in addition to the banana skin’s standard cartoonish, humorous connotations, it is also a key element in Barbier’s absurdist sculptural vocabulary. ‘Sliding,’ he says, ‘is an activity and a way of thinking that makes it possible to skirt contradictions and lubricate differences, not in order to produce closed syntheses, but so as to experience their extremities, the two ends, a space that cannot be broken down’ (G. Barbier quoted in P. Berckx, Un Abézédaire dans le désordre, Paris 2008). Vaseline Onirique translates as ‘Dreamlike Vaseline,’ emphasising this idea of lubrication: by embracing its material paradox and incongruity, the object slips the viewer into a new world of reverie and imaginative freedom.
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Condition report
A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.
The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.
The work is structurally sound. There is some glue residue on the reverse of the sculpture, presumably due to the artist's working method. There appears to be a minor loss on the smallest peel element as visible in the illustration. It is our view that the work appears to be in generally good condition.
The condition of lots sold can vary widely due to factors such as age, previous damage, restoration, repair, and wear and tear. The nature of the lots sold means that they will rarely be in perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.