Maurizio Nannucci | Not More Than Fifty Thousand Tourists Have Visited the Antarctic

Maurizio Nannucci

Not More Than Fifty Thousand Tourists Have Visited the Antarctic 

Toronto, Canada: Art Metropole, 2003

30 x 20"

Edition of 1000

The Art Metropole site lists this as the sixth iteration in the "Shopping Bags By Artists' series, but if it was 2003, I'm inclined to think it was the third. If I remember correctly, it was preceded by Yoko Ono and Dan Graham, and followed by John Jack Baylin and Ross Sinclair. After I left the series continued with bags by Michael Snow and Jonathan Monk. Almost a decade prior, Art Metropole and Printed Matter produced a paper shopping bag by Richard Prince and Lawrence Weiner. 

The silkscreened bags were produced to take to Art Basel each year, and were available free with purchase. Sometimes they were used to carry books or editions home, but mostly they tended to be saved. The Ono bag often appears for sale or at auction. 

Nannucci's bright yellow shopping bag is emblazoned with the text “NOT MORE THAN FIFTY THOUSAND TOURISTS HAVE VISITED THE ANTARCTIC”.