The project consists of 2 sculptural installations, each of which is a composition consisting of
a mask of a feline animal and female hands (in the form of gloves). The objects are exhibited
as museum artefacts of the past, a probable ritual/cult of the "black panther" and are
arranged in such a way that the mask can be "tried on" by coming from behind.
The key principle of this sculpture is allegorical (myth): the mask of a predatory feline animal
and the hands of a girl (the sphinx on the contrary), as well as visual and semantic contrast. A
combination of solid and matte black with pink, liquid and glossy. A strong and dangerous
predator with a vulnerable and unprotected condition.
The masks and black "gloves" symbolise the artificial shell into which women drive
themselves in the pursuit of pleasing the social expectations of a patriarchal society. How
women are assigned the qualities of predatory animals, combining fragility and sexual
attractiveness with the strength and dangerous essence of a protector/guardian.
The work invites discussion on the topic of femininity, the harmony of the feminine and
masculine principles. How the image of the sphinx has changed throughout history, starting
from the lion-man figurine made of mammoth bone, created 40 thousand years ago and
considered the earliest sculpture in the world, Egyptian sphinxes, the sphinxes of ancient
Greek and Indian myths and ending with the catwoman in modern culture.
The work causes a feeling of discomfort and invites viewers to literally try on the mask of a
lioness woman, not to be afraid to look into ourselves and think about what Masks we are
forced to wear in the desire to meet other people's expectations.
