Grids, published on instagram multiple_unique, 2022
Unique Piece was born of a reflection on the concept of the multiple — both in art and in law.
In quantitative terms, unique means “the only one of its kind, with no other of the same type.” Its antonyms are multiple, several. The definition appears simple and unambiguous. One could thus construct the following syllogism:
Every unique work exists in a single copy.
Unique Piece is a work.
Therefore, Unique Piece is unique.
And yet, this syllogism collapses under both legal and aesthetic scrutiny.
Unique Piece catalogues — in the form of a grid — all trademark registration applications filed in France containing the word unique. In 2022 alone, over 25,000 applications were filed with the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), each seeking exclusive rights to a version of the word unique, graphically stylized, to reproduce it infinitely across goods and services as part of a unique brand identity.
By highlighting the duplicity of our belief in uniqueness, Unique Piece is publicly accessible on Instagram — arguably the most widely used grid in the world today. In doing so, it becomes virtually infinitely reproducible.
Unique Piece is not unique.
Unique Piece is a multiple.
Presented and published on instagram multiple_unique and then printed on catalogue, Multiple x multiple, éditions Presses du Réel, Paris, décembre 2023.
Carolle Sanchez 