Decay

This first-ever book on the artist duo RM is modeled on collectible soccer sticker albums, transforming a popular culture format into a critical artistic structure.The work of the artist duo RM (formerly Real Madrid), which was founded in Geneva in 2015, focuses on the intersection between sexuality, consumerism, identity, and physicality. In sprawling sculptural and installation projects, RM scrutinizes social and political responses to stigmatized sexually transmitted diseases and infections, up to and including the stigma of death. Their work is distinguished by its precise formal vocabulary, references to pop culture, and shrewd sense of humor. On the occasion of the duo's tenth anniversary, they have released their first monograph, titled Decay. The book's formal design recalls sticker albums for soccer fans, a medium that unleashed a craze for collecting and trading stickers when it came on the market in the 1960s. Each book contains ten stickers. A conversation between Melanie Buhler and RM provides an introduction to their practice. With additional contributions by the poet and writer Eileen Myles and the artist Lili Reynaud-Dewar, among others.