Ernok
Ernok
Unsigned Print
Jean-Michel Basquiat
£100,000-£150,000 VALUE (EST.)
$180,000-$270,000 VALUE (EST.)
$160,000-$250,000 VALUE (EST.)
¥830,000-¥1,250,000 VALUE (EST.)
€110,000-€170,000 VALUE (EST.)
$940,000-$1,420,000 VALUE (EST.)
¥16,350,000-¥24,520,000 VALUE (EST.)
$120,000-$180,000 VALUE (EST.)
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
Screenprint, 2001
Unsigned Print Edition of 85
H 102cm x W 102cm
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2021 | Sotheby's New York - United States | Ernok - Unsigned Print | |||
| March 2021 | Sotheby's London - United Kingdom | Ernok - Unsigned Print | |||
| October 2020 | Christie's New York - United States | Ernok - Unsigned Print | |||
| June 2016 | Phillips London - United Kingdom | Ernok - Unsigned Print | |||
| March 2016 | Christie's London - United Kingdom | Ernok - Unsigned Print | |||
| April 2015 | Christie's New York - United States | Ernok - Unsigned Print | |||
| October 2012 | Phillips New York - United States | Ernok - Unsigned Print |
Meaning & Analysis
Ernok is a screen print in colours from 2001 by Jean-Michel Basquiat. This print features a black subject painted in close-up surrounded by frenzied brushstrokes of red, blue and green. Much like in Head, there is the sense that we can see beneath the subject’s skin, with yellow lines indicating the skull and areas of red paint penetrating through the body, indicating veins and internal organs. The blue lines across the figure’s chest loosely depict a ribcage.
The letters of the name ‘Ernok’ are broken down in the top right of the print, redolent of graffiti duo SAMO’s orthographical experimentation on the walls of New York City. Moreover, the breaking down of the name evokes the way in which Basquiat broke down the SAMO name to a single S, often accompanied by a crown, in his later works.
The incompleteness of the body in Ernok recalls bell hooks’ comment that much of Basquiat’s work evokes a fear of violence and oppression: “They speak of dread, of terror, of being torn apart, ravished. Commodified, appropriated, made to “serve” the interests of white masters, the black body as Basquiat shows it is incomplete, not fulfilled, never a full image”.
