M HKA Ensembles

Installation, 120 x 21 x 24 cm, 50 x 40 cm.

Collection: Collectie J. FELIX .

Habillé jusqu’aux neufs started out as a response to an invitation for participation in a group show called Sample Sale, which took place at the Henn Gallery in Maastricht, The Netherlands. The exhibition was curated by Nicolette Pot and Dees Linders, it took place from 9 till 16 December 1995. The following year the artist made a photographic work of himself wearing the 'hat' while leaning on its plinth – also titled Habillé jusqu'aux neufs.

The shape of the hat/object is taken from a photograph of a ventilator on Fire Island, New York, similar to one used by Marcel Duchamp as a ready-made in 1915. An etching by Duchamp, made in 1964, is the only record of this now lost work. The object was inscribed: ‘Pulled at Four Pins’ a literal translation of the French idiom, ‘Être tiré à quatre epingles’. The English equivalent ‘Dressed up to the nines’ translated literally into French gives: ‘Habillé jusqu’aux neufs’ – Webb’s title. A ‘toile’ is a prototype garment made by a designer, from lightweight cotton. ‘Toile’, from the Latin téla, meaning ‘web’ and ‘toil’ can also be phonetically punned, in English, with the word ‘twirl’.

The two works (the object and the photograph) were shown together for the first time in an  exhibition curated by Achille Bonito Oliva, which took place from 16 March till 15 June 1997. The original 'hat' piece was shown inside one of the cells of the renaissance prison where the exhibition took place.