Year: 1998
Medium: stainless steel, concrete, polyurethane and sponges
Dimensions: 188 x 95.6 x 81 cm (74 x 37 3/4 x 31 7/8 in.)
Acquired from Sotheby's, 2022
“Self” is one of Quinn's representative works, in which the artist used his blood to create a self-portrait of his head. However, this work can be seen as a side work of that. Quinn's head is mounted on the tip of a pole that rises straight up from a concrete base. Smooth polyurethane resin drips from the crown of the head and congeals as if time has frozen when soft chocolate is poured from the top. The title naturally associates with the nerve system connecting to the spinal cord and brain, or blood vessels from the colors. At the concrete base, sponges are attached at the feet, and they are clearly a metaphor for embodiment. It is a work with an addictive taste of Quinn’s typical style. Under the title “Nervous Breakdown”, not only similar and developed works in various colors have been created, but also many similar self-portrait-like sculptures in polyurethane resin and rubber were presented from the same period in the late 1990s.
