Marc QUINN Self 2011 2011
Image courtesy Marc Quinn Studio. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Collection of the artist

Learning resource

Marc Quinn

‘I was interested in freezing as a methodology during that period. I felt that while sculpture necessarily existed outside of time, freezing stopped time, and so made this explicit.’
 

Discussion Questions

  • Without refrigeration, what do you think would happen to Quinn’s artwork Self?
  • Quinn’s artwork Self does not engage with the viewer by means of eye contact how does this effect your experience of the work?
  • What are the ethical implications of using human blood as an artistic medium?
  • Quinn’s Self seems to embody life and death simultaneously, how do you think he has achieved this?

Art Making

  • Create a hand sculpture; use a latex or rubber glove as a mould and fill it with a liquid gelatine mix, colour it using food dye if you wish and allow it to set in a refrigerator.  Carefully remove the glove moulding and display your sculptured hand to an audience, photographically document the effect time & atmosphere has on your work.
  • Create a 3D self-portrait; firstly, photograph yourself or a friend with your eyes closed, including side and rear views. Print or photocopy these as close to actual size as you can. Use a support like cardboard or foam to build your 3D self-portrait, folding and fitting your image to the support. Colour and decorate your sculpture to express your emotions.

Case Study

Self-portraiture and the ego

  • Quinn has described ‘Self’ [2011] as an act of ‘pure’ self-portraiture devoid of ego. Explore what he might mean by this with reference to the materials he used and the type of representation he employed.
  • Compare and analyse the three forms of sculpted portraiture illustrated here; Quinn’s Self, Xian’s China Bust 15 and the Papua New Guinean Nausang [mask] from a cultural framework. How has the artists’ social and cultural background influenced their artmaking and contemporary representations of portraiture?

Research Links

Search for works by this artist in the national collection.