LOUSIE BOURGEOIS
Couples, 2001
Color lithograph on Arches paper
44 x 26 in. (112 x 66 cm)
Initialed, numbered, dated
Edition of 100, 25 AP
BOU-0002
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The imagery of wrapped couples in this composition is related to a performance piece Bourgeois created in 1992. At that time, she executed a 178-foot long cloth banner with a red screenprinted text, titled "She Lost It." The text comprises a selfauthored parable. On December 5, 1992, the artist orchestrated a multi-part performance in Philadelphia with the banner as the centerpiece. The performance began with the banner fully wrapped around a single performer. Slowly the banner was unwrapped by other performers and re-wrapped around a standing and embracing couple. The parable printed on the banner could be read by the audience as the unwrapping and re-wrapping took place. When the embracing couple was fully wrapped by the banner, it looked very much like one of the "Couples" in this composition.