Fiancée folle blanche

In La Fiancée Folle Blanche (The Crazy White Bride), a naked woman leans against a dark coloured penis which is as tall as her. Her feet are caught in what looks like clothing.

The 45cm tall sculpture made from polyester resin and fabric on a plexiglass base by Alina Szapocznikow recalls the figurines found on top of wedding cakes. Yet here, as the name of the work suggests, the bride is mad and undresses on her fiance, represented by a penis. This representation of a man was so controversial that the work was withdrawn from an auction in Paris in 1972. Szapocznikow likes to experiment with the human body in her work, using moulds of her own body parts, and by representing the female body in a sexualised way.

This sculpture by Alina Szapocznikow, part of the Pinault Collection, was presented in 2014 at the “Femminilità Radicale” (“Radical Femininity”) show at the Gucci Museo in Florence.