abstract pleasures

For abstract pleasures, a series of six works, Thomas Zipp combined photogravure with a number of etching techniques and letters, which he hand-punched into copper plates. The photogravure plates depict various motives, among them a neglected plastic plant from the artist’s studio, and apple, or a table with items scattered over it.

Two of the works depict scenes from Zipp’s performances, which often feature so-called Resusci Anne or Rescue Anne dolls. They were originally invented for reanimation training in the late 1950s and have been produced serially since the 1960s. The doll’s face was modelled after The Unknown Woman from the Seine (L’Inconnue de la Seine), a young woman who presumably committed suicide, and whose body was found in Paris by the river Seine around 1900. Her death mask was reproduced frequently and became popular among Paris artists and intellectuals of the time because of the face’s exceptional beauty and mysterious smile.