Head of Galatea

2010

Vaccuum formed acrylic, cast rubber lips, lipstic, fake eyelashes, spray paint, wooden support / inflatable plastic sexdoll

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(Also shown are other pieces from the 'Serial Pygmalionist' series)

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Inspired by Ovid's tale of Pygmalion, this portrait of the sculptors idealised woman is modelled on the Venus de Milo; an ancient Greek statue widely considered as the pin-up of the classical world. She was the physical target of the first ever recorded and analysed case of Agalmatophilia (where a gardener was caught trying to copulate with a replica of the statue).

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The Hellenic portrait is executed in the form of a tacky plastic sex doll head complete with open mouth and garish lipstick, altering the context of the story from romantic myth to a contemporary perversion.

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By turning this image of classical beauty into a cheap and degrading sexual object it addresses the constant bombardment of the image of women in a sex-sells consumer society, as well alluding to a mass-produced rape of art.

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The crude wooden stand maintains the idea of Pygmalions studio and hand made craft in contrast to the clean-cut manufactured head.