hit parade
Sixties
A SERIES OF
ENCRYPTED PAINTINGS
BY JEAN-CLAUDE BOSSEL
HIT PARADE SIXTIES continues the exploration of the intertwined love stories of Brigitte Bardot, Gunter Sachs and Serge Gainsbourg.
These stories inspired three earlier series, PASSION SACHS, WEDDING IN LAS VEGAS and INITIALS BB, all represented in our current exhibition.
The encrypted messages in HIT PARADE SIXTIES focus on a fourth iconic figure of the late 1960s, the actress Jane Birkin.
Shortly after Gainsbourg’s break-up with Bardot, Birkin became his partner in life and in music.
It was Birkin’s duet with Gainsbourg, released in 1969, that made “Je t’aime… moi non plus” famous.
the twelve paintings
in the series
hit parade sixties
The HIT PARADE SIXTIES series comprises twelve square paintings, each measuring 40 × 40 cm.
Mixed media: acrylic, a 33 rpm vinyl record, pieces of discarded metal mesh and a miniature Solex moped.
Painted in 2024.
AS ONE ACTRESS LEAVES,
ANOTHER ARRIVES
Several hidden messages are encrypted in the series of paintings HIT PARADE SIXTIES using the CODE BACH® process.
These messages trace the transition from Brigitte Bardot to Jane Birkin in Serge Gainsbourg’s life.
The miniature Solex at the centre of each painting evokes the spirit of freedom that Brigitte Bardot came to embody in 1960s France.
circles AND
ENCRYPTED MESSAGES
Look closely at the centre and the four corners of the paintings.
You will see hollow and filled circles of two sizes.
These circles represent the binary digits 0 and 1 in two different ways.
For the first reading, look at whether each circle is hollow or filled.
A hollow circle resembles the digit 0 and represents 0.
A filled circle represents 1.
Read the five circles in the top row from left to right. The sequence is 00011.
Read the row immediately below in the same direction to get 01111.
For the second reading, look at the diameter of each circle.
A small circle represents 0 and a large circle represents 1, whether hollow or filled.
Read the five circles in the upper diagonal row from left to right.
The sequence is 00111.
Read the row immediately below in the same direction to get 10110.
ART &
MATHEMATICS
The handwritten notes below show two aspects of how the paintings were made.
The first shows how the small circles are arranged in four sequences at the centre of the painting.
The second shows how the CODE BACH® encryption calculations determine the order of the symbols that carry the hidden messages along the edges of the painting.
The same principle applies to the sequences at the centre.