Evelyn Bencicova - Photographs London Tuesday, November 21, 2023 | Phillips

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  • “I want to give questions, not answers.”
    —Evelyn Bencicova 
    Slovakian visual artist Evelyn Bencicova’s (b.1992) enticingly enigmatic series Artificial Tears began as a reaction to the question, ‘What differentiates humans from machines?’, which led to reflecting on the cultural narrative of the ‘male creator’ and ‘female machine’. ‘Artificial Tears depicts the moment of uncertainty and alienation in the most ordinary state of performing an act’, the artist continues, ‘when the meaning, or more exactly, the meaninglessness of one's own action is revealed.’ Here, we see an isolated, anonymous figure – a female automaton – reflected in multiple mirrors with her face hidden behind a Polaroid camera. The use of muted colours and stark lighting further drives the viewer’s experience. With her sleek yet offbeat style, Bencicova constructs ambiguous tableaux that provide no fixed or clear meaning as seen in the present work, transporting us to another place and time. She has exhibited widely and has received numerous awards, including the Hasselblad Masters in 2016, the Portrait of Britain and Berlin Masters in 2020 and the Prix Picto de la Photographie de Mode in 2021. Another work from this series is held in the Fundación MEDIANOCHE0, Granada. 

     

     This offering marks the artist’s debut at auction. 

     

    Video interview with Evelyn Bencicova on Artificial Tears for Berlin Masters 2020. 

    • Exhibited

      Evelyn Bencicova: Merror, Fotografiska Stockholm, 15 June - 23 September 2018; Fotografiska Tallinn, 18 January - 23 May 2021
      Resonant Realities, Haus am Lützowplatz, Berlin, 16 April - 6 June 2021

ULTIMATE

4

I don’t exist from Artificial Tears

2017
Archival pigment print, mounted.
Image: 120 x 160 cm (47 1/4 x 62 7/8 in.)
Frame: 124.5 x 164.5 cm (49 x 64 3/4 in.)

Signed in ink, printed title, date and number 1/1 on an artist label affixed to the reverse of the mount.

This work is number 1 from the edition of 1 and is unique in this size.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
£10,000 - 15,000 

Sold for £57,150

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Rachel Peart
Head of Department, London
RPeart@phillips.com
 

Yuka Yamaji
Head of Photographs, Europe
YYamaji@phillips.com
 

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Photographs

London Auction 21 November 2023