Mouschwitz

2006

Acrylic on photograph on board

37.5 x 37.5 cm (14 3/4 x 14 3/4 in.)

The fusion of a monstrous portrait and parts of Mickey Mouse’s face, Mouschwitz tethers between pure horror and a clownish effect. By transforming with paint the photograph of a face into a melted mask, Llyn Foulkes erases the human traits of what hardly resembles a man turning it into an ostensible cartoon collage.

Since the 1970s, Llyn Foulkes has revisited traditional portrait art in a morbid vein, rarely departing from dark humour. The sarcastic use of Mickey Mouse is recurrent in his work since he first discovered the character and its commercial uses, which the artist sees as mindless and loud.

A macabre debasement of the idol of children as a critique of the actions of the business world, Llyn Foulkes’ painting Mouschwitz belongs to the Pinault Collection. It was first shown at the 2013 “Prima Materia” (“Raw Material”) exhibition at the Punta della Dogana.
Exhibitions