Martin Boyce Mask (For 1056 Endless Heights), 2007

Combining modified elements of iconic design objects, Martin Boyce’s enigmatic and haunting sculpture Mask (For 1056 Endless Heights) is an important early work encapsulating major themes of the Scottish artist’s practice.

Mask (For 1056 Endless Heights) pairs altered found objects, fastened on a delicate nickel-plated steel armature. The black mask-like element is a section from a Arne Jacobsen Series 7 chair, modified with two holes placed to approximate the location of eyes. A small piece of wood, installed centrally slightly below the two apertures, suggests a nose, reinforcing an anthropomorphic reading. On another of the steel armature’s metal rods, a round metal object, also a component taken from a Jacobsen chair, sits. As a whole, also on account of the zigzagging lower “limbs” of the supporting structure, Mask (For 1056 Endless Heights) suggests a humanoid presence: a face, hand and even an absent body.