Maria Eichhorn
Vier Multiples in Tasche

In her minimalist-conceptual and institution-critical works, Maria Eichhorn penetrates deep into the operative processes of the art field and provokes questions about the conditions of the creation, presentation and reception of art, about value creation processes and the autonomy of a work of art and its authorship. Her precise investigations focus on the perception of political, economic, socially relevant, feminist but also personally intimate processes. René Block has been working with Eichhorn since 1992, when she was awarded the first George Maciunas Prize in the context of the Fluxus da Capo exhibition in Wiesbaden. Vier Multiples in Tasche / Four Multiples in a Bag consists of a woven carrier bag with seven commercially available bottles of different ecological cleaning products from the Ecover brand with different colored caps, a highlighter and a leaflet with instructions for the production of four multiples in German and English, the first of which refers specifically to the physical contents of the bag, but the other three move further and further away from the object itself. “Consume cleaning products” consists of using the seven cleaning products in the bag – all-purpose cleaner, floor soap, liquid detergent, dishwashing liquid, toilet cleaner, fabric softener, wool detergent and mild detergent – in the household. The second instruction “Draw a heart on a wall” applies to the enclosed marker. The leaflet contains an illustration of how to make the wall drawing. Multiple number three involves taking a portrait photo with the artist at a specific location at a time to be agreed. The fourth requires, as an action, “Cast a silver ring and lose it in the street”, whereby the material, technique, size, weight, manufacturer and date of manufacture as well as the date, place, time and name of the person who lost the ring can be noted on the leaflet after it has been lost. In order to realize all four multiples, Eichhorn subtly shifts the role of the owner from consumer to producer – albeit of an almost immaterial work. Vier Multiples in Tasche combines ecological, economic and classical-conceptual considerations. Through the instructions for active participation, the edition not only questions the singular producership, but also, if carried out according to the instructions, withdraws from the commodification and speculation of the market – the work is then used up in its original form and can no longer be sold. As the Ecover brand has changed the design since the creation of the multiple and the edition is produced on demand, the readymade object has also changed its external appearance over time.
Text: Eva Scharrer