Dark Unit and Mask

2003
Boyce, Martin
The sculpture, Dark Unit and Mask, replicates the structure of a small Eames Storage Unit. On top of the unit sits a nickel plated steel display stand holding what appears to be an ashtray and a mask. The mask is constructed from parts of an 'Ant' and 'Series 7' chair designed in 1951 and 1955 by the Danish designer Arne Jacobsen. I became interested in what happens to the original objects as they shift through history. I sense that there is a desire when transplanting an aesthetic from one time period to another that one can somehow recreate the spirit, the social or cultural politics or the ethos of that period. What happens however is that through its journey the aesthetic collects its own ethos and this is often one based on pecuniary notions of taste and exclusivity. Martin Boyce
  • Artwork Details: 40 x 60 x 169cm
  • Edition:
  • Material description: wood, steel and paint
  • Credit line: © the artist
  • Theme:
  • Medium:
  • Accession number: ACC48/2003

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The Arts Council Collection is the UK's most widely seen collection of modern and contemporary art.

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