Sarah TROUCHE (born in 1983) - Lot 233

Sarah TROUCHE (born in 1983) Flogging Joséphine, Black Face Josephine, White Face Josephine, 2012 Set comprising a photograph of the artist during a performance (in front of the statue of Joséphine de Beauharnais in Martinique) as well as two busts depicting the empress. Photograph mounted on aluminum, signed and numbered 1/5 92 x 64 cm (photograph) H.: 46 cm; W.: 26 cm; D.: 16 cm (busts) A work derived from Sarah Trouché’s performance on the island of Martinique. The artist appears nude, painted red, and defacing the statue of Empress Joséphine to denounce slavery and colonialism. She questions the historical interpretation of this sovereign’s life—a figure as adored as she is detested. A desire to understand this character. In the 1990s, the statue was decapitated following protests. The empress can no longer answer the questions the artist asks herself. Legend has it that the head was buried by the sea. Sarah Trouché thus imagines a reconstruction of it in sand. White and black sand, a reference to the beaches of Martinique but also to the ambiguity—between good and evil—left by the memory of this historical figure. Voluntary fee of 25% (including tax)