Modern and Contemporary Art Pop Art Paolozzi, Eduardo Perpetuum Mobile. Colour silkscreen print on handmade copperplate paper. 1975. 71.5 x 56 cm (93.5 cm x 70 cm). Signed, dated, titled and marked ‘Unikat’. Somewhat darkened in places. A magnificent print with, in places, delicate and nuanced tones. Rarely designated as a ‘Unikat’ by Paolozzi; likely a colour trial proof. – ‘Perpetuum Mobile’ explores the idea of perpetual motion as a metaphor for modernity driven by technology and consumerism, translating it into a visual machine composed of fragments. The interlocking geometric shapes, diagrams and pseudo-technical components are reminiscent of engineering drawings, yet at the same time they subvert any clear functional context and thus undermine the belief in rationally controllable progress. The superimposition of clearly contoured surfaces, industrial-looking blocks of colour and collage-like elements reflects Paolozzi’s engagement with Pop Art and post-war technology, which has characterised his work since the 1950s. The print thus appears as a frozen moment in an endless cycle of production, circulation and wear and tear – a ‘perpetual motion machine’ of images and signs that both fascinates and unsettles the viewer. By appropriating the aesthetics of technology without providing an actual machine, Paolozzi renders the utopia of the perpetual motion machine visible as a critical commentary on modernity and lays bare the ideological projections associated with the machine. Perpetuum Mobile. Colour silkscreen on handmade copperplate paper. 1975. Signed, dated, titled, and marked “Unikat”. Some areas have darkened slightly. A magnificent print featuring delicate and nuanced tones in places. Rarely designated as a “Unikat” by Paolozzi, likely a colour trial proof – “Perpetuum Mobile” explores the idea of perpetual motion as a metaphor for modernity driven by technology and consumerism, translating it into a visual machine composed of fragments. The intertwined geometric forms, diagrams and pseudo-technical components are reminiscent of construction plans, yet simultaneously undermine any clear functional context, thereby casting doubt on the belief in rationally controllable progress. The superimposition of clearly contoured surfaces, industrial-looking blocks of colour, and collage-like elements reflects Paolozzi’s engagement with Pop Art and post-war technology, which has shaped his work since the 1950s. The print thus appears as a frozen moment in an endless cycle of production, circulation and wear – a ‘perpetual motion machine’ of images and signs that simultaneously fascinates and unsettles the viewer. By appropriating the aesthetics of technology without providing an actual machine, Paolozzi renders the utopia of the perpetual motion machine visible as a critical commentary on modernity and exposes the ideological projections associated with the machine.