Clive Barker British, b. 1940
Zip Mouth Organ, 1966
Mixed media
4.5 x 23.5 x 8.5 cm
Signed, dated and titled
Unique
Unique
Zip Mouth Organ is one of two objects involving a harmonica and a cast of a zip. In both pieces Barker plays on his love for contrast, making an instrument...
Zip Mouth Organ is one of two objects involving a harmonica and a cast of a zip. In both pieces Barker plays on his love for contrast, making an instrument silent by literally ‘zipping it up’. Barker’s disguise of a familiar object in order to change its’ meaning, is key to his work, and is of course a principle of the Surrealists. Being the heir to the invaluable legacy of Marcel Duchamp, Barker has always had strong links with Surrealism. The present object has been in a private collection for decades whilst its’ counterpart is held by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the Artist
Literature
FERMON, An Jo and Marco LIVINGSTONE. Clive Barker. Sculpture. Catalogue raisonné 1958- 2000. Milan, 2002, cat. no.42, ill. p.87.