In 2017, the Romanian Presidency sponsored an contemporary art exhibition where a non-conformist artist exhibited unconventional paintings made with … her own vulva.
The „Art encounters” exhibition, a contemporary art biennial, organized at the end of last year, under the high patronage of the Romanian Presidency, had among the exhibits, the unconventional works of artist Smaranda Ursuleanu. The artist performs its work using traces left by her own genitals, as shown in description:
The transfer of the most private aspect of the woman’s body towards maximum, almost sacred exposure, is the core of Smaranda Ursuleanu’s work. She uses the traces left by her vulva on numerous sheets of small paper to create an ambient self-portrait that defies the taboos of Romanian society. Each card is unique and their juxtaposition evokes the accumulation of the artist’s experiences over time, confronting us with the uneasiness of voyeurism.
These works were exposed in the section „This obscure object of desire”. One of the works was entitled „The Second Deflowing”. And the one presented below is called „Vulvatic Wallpaper”.
The painting section is described as follows: „The spectator is invited to reflect on his own relationship with each one of the exhibited works, to look at a different celebration of love and sexuality. Is it about exhibitionism? Without any doubt. Transgression? Surely. In addition, a good dose of narcissism, so characteristic of our society. But translating sensuality, desire or pleasure into images and objects is, in turn, an action. The path of the object turns our eyes to interrogate it, by offering and hiding at the same time, but still belonging to the author. „
According to her description, Smaranda Ursuleanu „observes slightly sexual behaviors, stereotypes and social taboos and translates them into subversive visual representations, usually feminist, multiplied and staged by various techniques”.
E.S.