PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE WORK OF ART
Carved marble panel, postcards, wall text

Raqs Media Collective present an ironic monument to the persuasive powers of art, carved in stone for posterity and printed as postcards for disposable distribution. The series of possibilities in the words that constitute the statement ‘Please Do Not Touch the Work of Art’ are prised open by rearranging them to form statements of an almost identical length, that bear very different attitudes. The ornamental gold patina and the gravitas of marble ascribes to each iteration of the statements an ‘elevated’ value. The work’s whimsical attitude asks for a greater degree of latitude for that realm of practice and discursivity that we call art.

Version 1

Gold ink on 300 gsm gold paper 10 x 15 cm (postcard)

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2008-2009); Taipei Fine Arts Museum (2009)

Version 2

Gold vinyl lettering on wall, dimension variable

Lunds Konsthal (2007)

Version 3

Etched carrera marble, 90 x 120 cm