Delaine Le Bas was born in Worthing, U.K, in 1965. She studied at St Martins School Of Art London. Delaine is a cross disciplinary artist creating installations, performance, photography and film. Her works focus on issues of identity, race, gender, sexuality and the continued violence and exclusions against whoever is perceived as “the other” within society.

She was one of the sixteen artists who were part of Paradise Lost. The First Roma Pavilion Venice Biennale 2007. She worked with her late husband the artist Damian Le Bas on their installations Safe European Home? (2011-2017) in 2017 producing the stage artworks and costumes together for Roma Armee at Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin.

Delaine created Romani Embassy in 2015.

She has created performance and text works with her son the writer Damian James Le Bas. Her works have been included in Venice Biennale 2007, 2017 & 2019, Gwangju Biennale 2012, Critical Contemplations Tate Modern 2017, ANTI – Athens Biennale 2018.

Recent projects include costumes for Rewitching Europe which premiered at Gorki in Berlin November 2019 and a new installation and performance Witch Hunt III commissioned by Gorki for 4. Berliner Herbstsalon DE-HEIMATIZE IT! which opened in October 2019.

Delaine was one of the artists for The Crack Begins Within Berlin Biennale 2020 creating St Sara Kali George, a mixed media installation for The Storefront For Dissident Bodies

Zigeuner Sauce

Sketch Book Image
The poster contains an image of a page from Le Bas’ sketch book from 2017, this is where Zigeunersauce artwork appeared for the first time –  this as an artwork developed into bottles of the artist’s urine with the handwritten “Zigeuner Sauce” label. The word ‘Zigeuner’ (Gypsy) is derived from the Greek ‘Athinganos’, which means ‘untouchable’ and refers to the position of Roma within the Indian caste system. The “Zigeuner Sauce” is a spicy and classic German sauce which is served with meat dishes such a schnitzel or pork chops. It is a classic sauce that is very popular with a schnitzel which can be breaded or not – this is what the website mybestgermanrecipes.com says.
Le Bas realized the artwork in 2020, prior to the Knorr company deciding to re-name the sauce, provoking a loud protest. She filled three bottles with her own urine, labelling them Zigeuner Sauce Pisslotov’s with reference to the artist Betye Saar and her artwork The Liberation of Aunt Jemima: Cocktail from 1973 and to the Puputov’s used in the 2017 at Venezuelan Protests Marcha De La Mierda or “March Of Shit”.
The motivation behind finally realizing the artwork was also the journey from London to Durham taken by Dominic Cummings (Chief Adviser to U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson since July 2019) that he did on 27th March 2020 while under “Covid-19 Lockdown” without taking a piss. The artist is asking the question “Is the government taking the piss?” – since everyone is supposed to obey the rules, but the government members seem to be able to do what they like. At the same time, she tries to keep a sense of humour about it