Now with his severed head adorning a bottle of premium shampoo, King Louis XVI has truly cemented his return to power with a line of luxury goods. Emanating from a plastic vessel, his tentacled form reaches out to bestow a royal blessing on all who purchase his consumer goods.

Headless Shampoo (2020) is based upon Léa Porré’s video piece Royal Fate is Fluid (2020) which tells the tale of how the fated French monarch made his way from Versailles across the Atlantic. Porré’s work has long investigated our fascination with ancient regimes and power they wield through the display of ornament and theatrics of luxury, in the 21st century she reimagines these systems surviving aligned to contemporary brands.