Emotional Detoxification
"There are drawings, frozen flowers, babies, Egyptian sculptures, family photographs, etc. I like the idea of showing how things come about, so this room is a mixture of ideas that became sculptures and ideas that never became sculptures and what's interesting to me is the mixture of the two."
"Emotional Detox is a series of seven sculptures made of lead and cast from parts of the artist's own body. In these works, which were inspired by traditional iconography of the seven deadly sins, the body has been devastated, suggestive of some kind of harrowing yet possibly cathartic experience. Like the Planck Density works, they point to the fragility of life and a moment of catharsis: to the shedding of a toxic material – lead – and a release from the body's epidermal perimeter. Small, square apertures in the sculptures are filled with candle wax, making the forms seem sacred like some kind of relic or devotional object. Quinn used photographs and collaged drawings to decide on the poses for each sculpture, which incorporate an element of chance since flaws and unpredictable textures from changing temperatures in the casting process are left as visible blemishes on their surface. The works were made at the time when Quinn overcame his addiction to alcohol and they deal with the idea of detoxification as both a physical and psychological battle." - Quotation from Artist website.
Reflection:
I find Marc Quinn's work to be both Unique and thoughtful, clearly a result of emotion turmoil, his sculptural works are highly relevant to my current artistic practice. I have started to think of my work as a form DNA poetry, seeing hair, skin, nails and blood as capsules of the self. Quinn's work makes me question how far I could push this concept. I am particular interested in the way he documents his growing older with four busts of his hold own head, all made from his own blood. To me this documentation of the self with the self is fascinating, as it has both archaeological and poetic qualities to it. Seeing the sculptures as not only physically resembling quin, by being authentically him inside, the work gains connotations of value and creates the impression that he needs some sort of protection. This may echo feelings the artist experienced whilst dealing with alcoholism, what is sure to say however; is that Quinn's work comes from a place deep within, and it is that honesty and vulnerability that is so attractive to viewers.
Self
Unconventional and innovative, challenging and provoking, Self is a self-portrait cast of the artist's head made in 2006 from his own blood and then frozen. Emerging from the YBA movement, Marc Quinn is an artist whose work raises many questions about identity and the nature of portraiture, questions which go close to the heart of the work of the National Portrait Gallery. He is already represented in the Collection by his DNA portrait of the Nobel-prize-winning DNA scientist, Sir John Sulston, commissioned by the Gallery in 2001.
Self has become an enduring image of the Brit Art movement. There is no doubt that in the Gallery's collection this work would become iconic and would be much visited and debated. Needless to say, the Gallery has examined the technical issues very carefully. The work is designed so that it can be melted, recast and refrozen when it has to be moved. It is the fourth in the series so there is extensive experience in handling this sort of work.
The first blood head was made in 1991 and shown in the Sensation exhibition. Since then the artist has made a new cast every five years, documenting his own transformation and ultimate deterioration. The three earlier blood heads are all in overseas collections. The Gallery wants to present the latest in the series in London as a centrepiece in its contemporary collection and as a way of engaging with issues of representation of the human figure in contemporary culture.
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