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Proof outside the illustrated book edition of state IX on paper, and before the illustrated book edition of state X on fabric.
This impression is part of an initialed, but unpublished series.
There are several unpublished but signed formats of “The Laws of Nature:” a series on fabric, printed in black, in 2 known examples; a series on fabric, printed in red, in 1 known example; and a series on a scarf, printed in black, with the plates in a different order. (See the Evolving Composition Diagram.) The states of the plates within the various series sometimes differ from the states of the plates within the published editions.
There are also two sets of plates, printed in red, with no signatures. One set, from c. 2003, is on silk; the other, from c. 2006, is on paper. Since the prints in these sets have no signatures, the sets are not considered to be completed series.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state VIII in drypoint: both figure's hands reconfigured; male figure's hair reconfigured, his right knee and left calf slightly reconfigured.
Background:
The artist told printer Felix Harlan that the figures in this series are playing an adult version of a French children's game, known as "faire des galipettes," meaning to do somersaults. In fact, the expression "faire des galipettes" is also slang for having sex, a punning reference that Bourgeois must have enjoyed.
Curatorial Remarks:
In contrast to the designation "illustrated book," which contains text, this catalogue designates as a "series" those instances where there is no text accompanying a group of related plates.
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