This unique chess set by Tom Sachs revolves around themes of the Space Race and the moon landing. The black pieces represent Russian cosmonauts and the white, American astronauts. Each game piece, which is magnetically held to the lunar-like, pocked-surface game board, features names of famous cosmonauts and astronauts. The original accompanying box for this set is a handmade, duct taped mashup of a Hermès box and a box for the Revell board game “First Lunar Landing”.
Everything in our lives is miraculously made with no idea of how it's done. As an active and critical consumer, and as someone who has attempted to make the flawless and failed, I wanted a transparency of construction here. If we know how it is made and how it falls apart, we will know how to rebuild it.
Tom Sachs