Idiot (tablecloth & twelve napkins), 2020 - Kris Martin
about this work
In 2005 Kris Martin copied Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot (1874) by hand and replaced every mention of the innocent and good-hearted main character Prince Myshkin with his own name 'Martin'. Since this key work, the word and concept 'Idiot' has become a recurrent motif in Martin's artistic practice. The word Idiot appears as a motif on this tablecloth and these napkins - almost invisibly woven into the artist's handwriting.
Damask is a weaving technique in which drawings are made on a background of the same colour. As a result, the drawing can only be seen clearly from a certain angle. This classic white table linen only reveals its poetic drawing after you have wiped your mouth for the first time.
This set includes one tablecloth measuring 350 x 150 cm and twelve napkins, each measuring 50 x 50 cm.
