Designed in 1970, Herman Makkink’s Christ Unlimited is a playful reconstruction of a crucified Christ statuette in a dancing position from The Butcher’s Dance, a popular Balkan and Middle Eastern group folk dance. Stanley Kubrick visited Dutch artist Herman Makkink and his brother Cornelis in their London studio at the S.P.A.C.E. complex while looking for props for his upcoming movie, A Clockwork Orange (1971), and chose nine paintings from Cornelis and two sculpture pieces from Herman. Four of the nine Christ Unlimited figures appear in Alex’s bedroom, and according to Makkink, Kubrick likely chose them for their futuristic aesthetic. Later mass produced by Medicom Toy, Japan, the present work is from the original edition of nine.
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
David Briers (ed.), Pages, International Magazine of the Arts, no. 1, Autumn 1970 (illustrated, front cover)
Christian Anderson-Ramshall, "Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange: Brutalism in exteriors, interiors and a quilt." Film and Furniture, June 4, 2015, online