If the People Have No Bread Let Them Eat Cake, 2002

On stage, Villa Merkel, Esslingen, Germany, 2003

Sheep, perfume (Gucci Rush), colour, fence, hut

Note: A remake of a tableau occasioned by the French Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793). The story goes that the Queen kept a flock of pink, perfumed sheep in the Hameau village in the Versailles garden. The Hameau was used as a retreat by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, to which they could escape from the court at the Versailles Castle. The Hameau also had a small dairy which was one of the first to focus on hygiene in production, thus setting new standards for the manufacture of cheese and butter. The milk from the sheep was processed in this dairy. The piece was first shown at Hannover in the Georgengarten with five sheep from a local farm. The sheep were dyed, perfumed and on display for two weeks. Another group of sheep were installed just outside Villa Merkel in Esslingen. The Hannover sheep seemed to enjoy the colouring and being in the public eye while the second group rather disliked the idea of being on display. The title of the piece is based on a remark falsely attributed to Marie Antoinette - a remark which was one of the provocations that triggered the French revolution in 1789.

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