Perfume Number 16

Debra Franses’s idea for Perfume Number 16 first originated whilst the artist was studying at Central St Martins School of Art. Debra took a handbag from a top couture house, adapting it into a silicone mould for casting.

Perfume Number 16 is part of a series of original sculptures. All are made from resin, therefore can weigh up to approximately 15 kilos. The pieces are filled with random objects. Including lipsticks, money, Coca Cola bottles, sunglasses, keys… and more.

In this group of works which Perfume Number 16 is part of Debra explores ideas centred on consumption and mass production. In other words, she recognises the relationship we have with material objects as consumable goods. With their kitschy elements these works are a clear nod to pop art, brought into the digital age. In short, we curate and display the emblems we love and they curate and display us.

Debra Franses was born in London in 1967. She studied Politics and Economics and subsequently pursued a career in advertising. She has lived and worked in New York and London, where she is now based. Her Art Bags (including Perfume Number 6) have been exhibited in galleries around the globe.

In 2015, she produced some works for Coca Cola Museum to celebrate 100 years of the iconic coke bottle design. Her works were shown alongside pieces by an impressive selection of internationally-acclaimed artists, for instance Andy Warhol and Ai WeiWei. Most recently, one of her Art Bags was exhibited with Runway Gallery for our London Fashion Week takeover for Fashion Scout at Victoria House, London.

Debra says about Perfume Number 16 and her other Art Bags:

Each and every one of my bags are a distillation of who I have met, where I have been or what I witness in the world. Because all interactions leave a trace in me which inspire my work. The Art Bag Skinny Pop represents this. 

In conclusion, click Debra Franses for the full selection of Art Bags.

After that, why not read the Debra Franses Interview – Forty nine questions and art ain’t one.