Work Made-ready, Les Baux de Provence (Mountain Bike) 2001

Editor: Here we have Simon Starling’s *Work Made-ready, Les Baux de Provence (Mountain Bike)*. It is an installation piece with variable dimensions. What strikes me is the seemingly discarded bicycle and the general air of deconstruction. How might we interpret this arrangement? Curator: Well, Starling often explores the lifecycle of objects and their relationship to specific places. Think about the title – “Work Made-ready.” It evokes Duchamp’s readymades but also suggests labor and transformation. What connections can you draw between the bicycle, the materials, and the location, Les Baux-de-Provence? Editor: Les Baux is known for bauxite, the ore of aluminum. Is Starling implying the bike was somehow transformed into aluminum and back again? Curator: Precisely! And consider the institutional context: the museum. What does it mean to display this process, this cycle, as art? It challenges our understanding of value and representation. Editor: So, it’s less about the objects themselves and more about the journey and the cultural frameworks that give them meaning? Thanks, that's helpful!