Passagen 23 | The Final Bid

The installation “The Final Bid” by British artist Michael Pinsky questions our patterns of consumption and their impact on the environment. It is surprising that the majority of greenhouse gas emissions are linked to the consumption of things such as furniture, clothing or devices, rather than to air travel, energy use or food.

The project promotes an economy of reuse by collecting second-hand chairs, which are then sold through an online auction. This creates a constantly changing sculptural ensemble. The installation height of each chair increases as the bid rises, representing the evolving value of the object. However, the sculptural presence of the exhibition is only one moment in the chairs’ journey towards reuse, as they will find a new home elsewhere after the exhibition.

“The Final Bid” plays with the idea of collecting artefacts and the increase in value they gain when placed in a new context. While some of the chairs may hold significant sentimental value, they may generally have only low commercial value. In the tradition of the readymade, they are temporarily removed from their functional use and transformed into a sculpture to be viewed, rather than simply remaining pieces of furniture to sit on.

We celebrated forty years of 235 Media as part of Passagen 2023.

Bids could be placed on site or online.
The proceeds were donated to Médecins Sans Frontières.

With the kind support of Draiflessen Collection, Mettingen.

Michael Pinsky, “THE FINAL BID”, 2022, first realised on behalf of Draiflessen Collection, Mettingen.