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La Grande Marlène
by Marlene Haring, 2006

mirror, 100 x 200 cm, Nivea Creme
Exhibitions: groupshow at Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, Paris, curated by Christoph Weber
private collection

A distinct smell of Nivea Creme in the room leads you to a large white monochrome panel. Looking like paint or plaster applied with a trowel, only as the Nivea decomposes over time and its smooth surface becomes bubbly and broken does it begin to reveal the mirror underneath.

The discription on the back of the mirror reads as follows:

• La Grande Marlène is a unique piece by Marlene Haring consisting of this mirror with the reflective side coated with a layer of Nivea Creme fully obscuring the whole surface.
• The owner of the work may remove the layer of Nivea for storage and transportation.
  Without the layer of Nivea this mirror is not La Grande Marlène.
• The owner of the work may reapply the layer of Nivea after installation and refresh it periodically.
  Additional instructions from Marlene Haring:
• A layer of Nivea Creme between 2 and 5 mm thick shall be applied with a large plasterer‘s trowel.
• La Grande Marlène shall lean against a wall with the shorter side resting on the floor, thus reaching a vertical height of almost 2 m.