A bar at the Folies Bergère, after Edouard Manet

In the 'Pictures of Magazines 2' series Vik Muniz continues his long-standing interest in iconic artworks, this time constructing their likeness from scraps torn from art, fashion and news magazines. Muniz photographs and then enlarges his collaged reconstructions, presenting them at a scale at which they are at once unsettling and instantly recognisable. In 'A bar at the Folies Bergère, after Edouard Manet', Muniz has reprised Eduard Manet’s celebrated 1882 painting of the popular Parisian music hall frequented at the time by the city’s most fashionable.

At first glance the photograph bears a striking resemblance to Manet’s original painting but on closer inspection the collaged elements are plainly apparent, and Muniz’s process reveals itself. Among the bar patrons reflected in Manet’s mirror, one can find images of Audrey Hepburn, Madonna, David Bowie and the Beatles. In another detail, the delicate lace neckline of Manet’s melancholy barmaid’s dress has been cleverly refabricated from images of wistful young women.

Muniz’s technique playfully references the materiality of Manet’s original, with each scrap of paper resembling a daub of paint. Ultimately, however, it emphasises the iconicity of the painting, its status as an image and its continuous reproduction.