The fusion of luxury, abundance, appearance and the transience usually inevitably associated with them is manifested in the champagne coupés made from sugar. The ingredient has many socio-cultural layers. Formerly perceived as a luxury good for the upper classes, it is now considered an unhealthy food with an addictive factor.
The desirable object combines the transparency and lustre of the materiality of real glass with the transience of sugar, thus creating a new level of symbolism. They are an expression of preciousness, transience and desire. Their fragility refers to the transience of human desires and longings, while their appealing aesthetics cast a spell over viewers.
In pop and everyday culture, the champagne glass symbolises luxury, exclusivity, privilege and decadence. This decadence is staged in a performative exhibition. Filled with champagne and arranged as an assemblage, the status symbol slowly dissolves, leaving behind an image of crystallised sugar. The gradual dissolution of the coupés as the champagne is poured lends the event an additional dimension of tension and disintegration. This process emphasises the exclusivity of luxury, which is not accessible to all, and the fleeting pleasure it offers.