Crazy Pablo: A Pack of Picot

What is the connection between Sykes-Picot, a pack of Camel cigarettes, and Juan Gris?

Author

Inbal Zakai
September 06, 2026

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Richard Wentworth, Sykes Picot (for Juan Gris), 2024,
cut and folded cigarette box in wooden frame, 12.5 × 12.5 cm.

Orientalist Fantasy (marked red)

With its iconic motif of a camel set against a backdrop of palm trees and pyramids, the Camel package presents a commercialized, shallow, and stereotypical vision of the Middle East as imagined through a Western lens. Taking this flat cardboard box as his raw material, Wentworth cuts, folds, unfolds, and deconstructs it, turning a piece of everyday branding into a physical terrain ready to be dissected.

Juan Gris’s Synthetic Cubism (marked blue)

In the early 20th century, Gris pioneered papier collé, revolutionizing art by incorporating everyday printed paper - frequently tobacco wrappers - into flattened, geometric collages. Wentworth builds directly on this Cubist heritage, manipulating a contemporary cigarette box to revive Gris's deconstruction of form.

Think About It 🤔 

Wentworth draws a sharp, ironic parallel: while Juan Gris and the Cubists deconstructed tobacco wrappers on paper to explore new artistic perspectives, Sykes and Picot deconstructed an entire region on paper maps to serve colonial ambitions. The Camel pack acts as the ultimate bridge between the two—wrapped in Orientalist desert imagery and made of foldable cardboard like a map, it serves as both a Cubist canvas and a quiet critique of imperial power.

Juan Gris, La bouteille d'anis (The Bottle of Anis), 1914, oil on canvas, 41.6 × 24 cm, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.
Google Arts & Culture — WgFtCNg9dBktbg https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13278718

Fun Fact

All three key elements behind Wentworth’s artwork were born within the exact same four-year window:

  • 1912–1914: Juan Gris and his fellow Cubists began gluing tobacco wrappers onto their canvases in Paris (papier collé).

  • 1913: R.J. Reynolds introduced Camel cigarettes to the world.

  • 1916: Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot signed their secret agreement to divide the Middle East.

Richard Wentworth (b. 1947, Staffordshire) is a British conceptual artist and sculptor associated with the New British Sculpture movement. Renowned for working with found objects, from chairs and cigarette packs to nails and postcards - he subverts mundane items into sharp political and poetic commentary, inviting us to rethink the ordinary objects around us.

How does it relate to the here and now? or What to say during casual conversation to show off your art knowledge?

Paper Destinies – “It’s remarkable how, in a single small gesture, Wentworth shows that the casual ease with which an artist deconstructs a cigarette pack on his desk is the exact same arbitrary ease with which colonial diplomats carved up the borders of nations and peoples.”

Now have another Look!

And If You’re Up for More…

  1. Rumours at Large Glass Gallery, London, UK - A group exhibition featuring Richard Wentworth’s multifarious chairs and readymade assemblages.

  2. Juan Gris’s Birthplace - Right off Puerta del Sol (Calle del Carmen 4) Madrid, Spain, look up to find the plaque marking where Gris was born in 1887- a quick, historic stop right in Madrid's bustling center.

  3. Institut du Monde Arabe - Paris, France - A stunning cultural center regularly featuring contemporary Arab artists who use maps, archives, and visual art to critique colonial borders.

  4. Museo Reina Sofía - Madrid, Spain - Home to an exceptional collection of Cubist masterpieces, including original works by Juan Gris, - the ultimate spot to experience early 20th-century avant-garde art up close.

Till next time, next time you see a discarded cigarette box on the street, stop and take a look. What hidden story is it telling about our world? Hit reply or drop a comment - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Yours,
Inbal Z M

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