PRINCE AND PRINCESS
Who are we?
Prince And Princess, 2009-2010
Onyx and marble
Unique work (a pair)
H40 x W120 x D75cm (each)
© Mark Humphrey
COLLABORATORS
Jumeirah
Osborne Samuel gallery
Pietrasanta Cultural Institute
LOCATION
Park Lane, Mayfair, London, UK
“PRINCE AND PRINCESS BRINGS TWO COFFEE TABLES TOGETHER IN AN INTIMATE EMBRACE. HAND-CARVED FROM ONYX AND MARBLE, THEIR ILLUMINATED SURFACES GLOW LIKE PRECIOUS JEWELS, GIVING THE FURNITURE A SENSE OF PRICELESSNESS. THEIR SCULPTURAL FORMS SUGGEST TWO HUMAN BODIES ENTWINED, CONNECTED AND BECOMING ONE.
THE TWO TABLES APPEAR LOCKED TOGETHER, THEIR FORMS FLOWING INTO ONE ANOTHER AS THOUGH MAKING LOVE. WHAT BEGINS AS TWO SEPARATE OBJECTS BECOMES A SINGLE, CONNECTED FORM, BLURRING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ONE AND THE OTHER. THE WORK PLAYS WITH THE IDEA OF TWO IDENTITIES EXISTING TOGETHER WHILE REMAINING INDIVIDUALLY RECOGNISABLE.
THE TITLE INTRODUCES THE FAMILIAR DISTINCTION BETWEEN ‘PRINCE AND PRINCESS’, WHILE THE SCULPTURE QUESTIONS HOW CLEARLY THOSE DISTINCTIONS CAN BE DEFINED. TWO BODIES, TWO IDENTITIES, TWO FORMS – YET WHERE DOES ONE END AND THE OTHER BEGIN?”
Mark Humphrey
