Sex Doll, 2018

Basel 2019
Sex Doll

Mehdi Chouakri

Sculpture
Thermoplastic plastic, table, chair, typewriter, plinth
139.0 x 140.0 x 112.0 (cm)
54.7 x 55.1 x 44.1 (inch)
Human relationships — with nature, society, religion, morality or sexuality — are identifiable in representations of the human body. They universally reflect a culturally and historically constructed image of mankind. The "glorification" of the female body in particular has taken on innumerable forms throughout history, ranging from ancient Venus statuettes and Renaissance nudes to contemporary pornography. The pictorial exploration of revealed bodies and body parts is a particular and recurring theme in the fine arts; and so also in Hans-Peter Feldmann’s body of work. Sitting at a table, an undressed woman appears concentrating on a prose manuscript. Feldmann presents the "Sex Doll“ in a harmless and familiar situation, and quite in contrast to it’s original purpose. The anachronistic typewriter is the only indicator of times past. The placement on a pedestal literally elevates the "Sex Doll“. The installation becomes a still from an imaginary stage play or film, the plot of which is for the beholder to explore.