MONICA BONVICINI
BONDED ETERNMALE
9 SEPTEMBER – 1 OCTOBER 2017
On the occasion of Monica Bonvicini's presentation at the 15th Istanbul Biennale, GOOD NEIGHBOURS (16 September – 12 November 2017) KÖNIG GALERIE is honored to show an icon installation in the St. Agnes Tower.
BONDED ETERNMALE is a work developed by MB 15 years ago, during her research on building material (Eternit, from where the title comes), gender, and its consequently living design. MB's choice of presentation of the work on the first floor of the St. Agnes Tower corresponds with the sociosexual code of living and dwelling that the work refers to. The installation was inspired beside other lectures in Emily Post book “The Personality of a House” which core is a distinguished set of displays and norms for women's and men’s domestic spaces, and the male dwelling dream, well represented in the Bachelor’s Pads published in the magazine Playboy from the beginning on.
This installation is the sequel to ETERNMALE from 2001: A calendar the artist conceived based on the idea of the Pirelli calendar of the 80ies. The publication is a collection of MB drawings and collages around the stereotypical Bachelor’s Pads, lifestyle, and ironic etiquette. The idea of a domesticated male is at the base of the calendar.
Consisting of a display of the “asbestos” Willy Guhl Chair and table design in Eternit, upholstered with an S/M alike leather cover, resting on a leather-looking thick black linoleum, and a black rather minimalistic humidifier filled up with whiskey, BONDED ETERNMALE is a forceful installation for all senses.