The Astronaut
DE
I modeled this sculpture from clay, cast it in plaster, then reapplied a mask I had taken from the mold onto its face and coated it with shellac varnish. The mirror frame is an integral part of the work and provides it with its own distinct space.
When I began creating this work in 2010, I recalled a story from Rilke's "The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge," a work I had greatly enjoyed reading in my youth. The story was about people wearing their faces like masks and sometimes wearing them out prematurely. A faceless face.
The Astronaut underwent some changes in August 2026 after returning from an exhibition. While rearranging it, I found the mirror frame, and of course, when you have a mirror, you look into it. Together with the mirror frame, the sculpture began to come to life, and I added the black eyes and mustache that men from Upper Egypt and Nubia love to wear.
€ 5,900
Phoebe Lesch' More From
When I began working on this piece in 2010, a story came to mind from Rilke's The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, which I had read with great pleasure in my youth. The story described how people wear their faces like masks and sometimes wear them out before their time. Facelessness. The astronaut represents someone who does not feel they belong to Earth, someone who has fallen from the sky.
The Astronaut underwent some changes after returning from an exhibition in August 2026 with a broken nose. While rearranging the nose, I thought of that insurmountable, sphinx-like expression from the Venice exhibition and recalled the amusing coincidence that the Sphinx's nose had also been broken. The mirror frame was found during the same period, and of course, when you have a mirror, you look into it. With the mirror frame, the sculpture began to come alive, and I gave it the black eyes and mustache that men from Upper Egypt and Nubia love to wear.
In the end, the astronaut landed, and the piece was complete.
I modeled this sculpture in clay, cast it in plaster, then reapplied a molded mask to its face and finished it with shellac. The mirror frame is an integral part of the work and provides it with a space of its own.
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