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Lot Essay
'We don't see them as deviants but rather as being perfectly autonomous in themselves. We present objects that couldn't have modes for reproduction'
(D. and J. Chapman, quoted in 'Revelations: A conversation between Robert Rosenblum and Dinos & Jake Chapman', Unholy Libel: Six Feet Under, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery,
London, 1997, p. 148).
'When our sculptures work they achieve the position of reducing the viewer to a state of absolute moral panic... they're completely troublesome objects'
(J. and D. Chapman, quoted in D. Fogle, 'A Scatological Aesthetic for the Tired of Seeing', in Chapmanworld, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 1996, unpaged).
Transforming the Garden of Eden into a prehistoric environment populated by frolicking child mutants in a plethora of metamorphosised states and pairings, Tragic Anatomies is part of one of the most famous series realised by the Chapman brothers. Executed in 1996, the work was featured in their first major New York exhibition, Dinos and Chake Chapman: Six Feet Under, held at Gagosian Gallery. Tragic Anatomies is amongst a handful of works that have come to define the so-called YBA movement and was shown at the notorious Sensation show at the Royal Academy in 1997. Through Tragic Anatomies, the Chapmans bring their viewer in direct contact with the possibilities engendered in contemporary scientific and biological 'advancements' by giving material form to horrific concepts. 'When our sculptures work they achieve the position of reducing the viewer to a state of absolute moral panic...they're completely troublesome objects' (J. and D. Chapman, quoted in D. Fogle, ' A Scatological Aesthetic for the Tired of Seeing', in Chapmanworld, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 1996, unpaged).
Founded on more than just an overriding desire to provoke shock, the Anatomies series challenges notions surrounding the homogeneity of the body in an age where plastic surgery, genetic manipulation and cloning proliferate. Here, the artists present the viewer with a group of mannequin-like children in various stations of mutation with overtly presented and repositioned sexual organs. As explained by the artists, 'the imagery originates from mannequins rather than dolls. Both dolls and mannequins are nearly human - they are approximations. We are interested in them because they preexist' (D. and J. Chapman, quoted in 'Revelations: A conversation between Robert Rosenblum and Dinos & Jake Chapman', Unholy Libel: Six Feet Under, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery, London, 1997, p. 148). Deliberately playing with our biological response to identify with that which appears most closely related to us, with their smooth skin-like surfaces, the artists bring us closer to identifying them as 'real' while simultaneously deterring us from identifying them as 'human' through their implausible mutations. While drawing affinities with Hans Bellmer' s dolls, the artists' objects are not a simple amalgamation of suggestive body parts which recall the human body, they are more fully formed, disconcertingly biologically logical in their bizarre conjoinings. Cast in shapes reminiscent of mythical creatures and freak show Siamese twins, the artists engage us in an age-old dialogue about whether or not one's physical form is really an indicator of the moral decrepitude. Of their figures, the artists have said, 'we don't see them as deviants but rather as being perfectly autonomous in themselves. We present objects that couldn't have a modes for reproduction' (D. and J. Chapman, quoted in 'Revelations: A conversation between Robert Rosenblum and Dinos & JakeChapman', Unholy Libel: Six Feet Under, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery, London, 1997, p. 148).
With their hybrid figures responding to contemporary debates surrounding the limits of medical progress tested by cloning, genetic manipulations and biotechnology, the artists' Anatomies series addresses complex themes at the very heart of human experience and moral behavior. 'We were interested in the convergence between filth and science' the artists explain, 'here are certain forms of idealism that we are interested in dragging down, or, at least problematizing. As far as being brothers, we are interested in the idea of origins, of our genetic origin and the etymological process of tracing down ideas in general. Our work always poses the problem of self-generation - of how something reproduces or represents itself. We like the relationship between representation and reproduction. The work instigates a sequence of impossibilities, objects that have reproductive organs but not the possibility of reproduction, neither the possibility of birth nor procreation' (D. and J. Chapman, quoted in 'Revelations: A conversation between Robert Rosenblum and Dinos & Jake Chapman', Unholy Libel: Six Feet Under, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery, London, 1997, p. 147).
(D. and J. Chapman, quoted in 'Revelations: A conversation between Robert Rosenblum and Dinos & Jake Chapman', Unholy Libel: Six Feet Under, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery,
London, 1997, p. 148).
'When our sculptures work they achieve the position of reducing the viewer to a state of absolute moral panic... they're completely troublesome objects'
(J. and D. Chapman, quoted in D. Fogle, 'A Scatological Aesthetic for the Tired of Seeing', in Chapmanworld, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 1996, unpaged).
Transforming the Garden of Eden into a prehistoric environment populated by frolicking child mutants in a plethora of metamorphosised states and pairings, Tragic Anatomies is part of one of the most famous series realised by the Chapman brothers. Executed in 1996, the work was featured in their first major New York exhibition, Dinos and Chake Chapman: Six Feet Under, held at Gagosian Gallery. Tragic Anatomies is amongst a handful of works that have come to define the so-called YBA movement and was shown at the notorious Sensation show at the Royal Academy in 1997. Through Tragic Anatomies, the Chapmans bring their viewer in direct contact with the possibilities engendered in contemporary scientific and biological 'advancements' by giving material form to horrific concepts. 'When our sculptures work they achieve the position of reducing the viewer to a state of absolute moral panic...they're completely troublesome objects' (J. and D. Chapman, quoted in D. Fogle, ' A Scatological Aesthetic for the Tired of Seeing', in Chapmanworld, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 1996, unpaged).
Founded on more than just an overriding desire to provoke shock, the Anatomies series challenges notions surrounding the homogeneity of the body in an age where plastic surgery, genetic manipulation and cloning proliferate. Here, the artists present the viewer with a group of mannequin-like children in various stations of mutation with overtly presented and repositioned sexual organs. As explained by the artists, 'the imagery originates from mannequins rather than dolls. Both dolls and mannequins are nearly human - they are approximations. We are interested in them because they preexist' (D. and J. Chapman, quoted in 'Revelations: A conversation between Robert Rosenblum and Dinos & Jake Chapman', Unholy Libel: Six Feet Under, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery, London, 1997, p. 148). Deliberately playing with our biological response to identify with that which appears most closely related to us, with their smooth skin-like surfaces, the artists bring us closer to identifying them as 'real' while simultaneously deterring us from identifying them as 'human' through their implausible mutations. While drawing affinities with Hans Bellmer' s dolls, the artists' objects are not a simple amalgamation of suggestive body parts which recall the human body, they are more fully formed, disconcertingly biologically logical in their bizarre conjoinings. Cast in shapes reminiscent of mythical creatures and freak show Siamese twins, the artists engage us in an age-old dialogue about whether or not one's physical form is really an indicator of the moral decrepitude. Of their figures, the artists have said, 'we don't see them as deviants but rather as being perfectly autonomous in themselves. We present objects that couldn't have a modes for reproduction' (D. and J. Chapman, quoted in 'Revelations: A conversation between Robert Rosenblum and Dinos & JakeChapman', Unholy Libel: Six Feet Under, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery, London, 1997, p. 148).
With their hybrid figures responding to contemporary debates surrounding the limits of medical progress tested by cloning, genetic manipulations and biotechnology, the artists' Anatomies series addresses complex themes at the very heart of human experience and moral behavior. 'We were interested in the convergence between filth and science' the artists explain, 'here are certain forms of idealism that we are interested in dragging down, or, at least problematizing. As far as being brothers, we are interested in the idea of origins, of our genetic origin and the etymological process of tracing down ideas in general. Our work always poses the problem of self-generation - of how something reproduces or represents itself. We like the relationship between representation and reproduction. The work instigates a sequence of impossibilities, objects that have reproductive organs but not the possibility of reproduction, neither the possibility of birth nor procreation' (D. and J. Chapman, quoted in 'Revelations: A conversation between Robert Rosenblum and Dinos & Jake Chapman', Unholy Libel: Six Feet Under, exh. cat., Gagosian Gallery, London, 1997, p. 147).