White Plains, 1975

The materials in Hannah Wilke’s work often refer to the forms of the body, as exemplified by White Plains–a soft, sensuous sculpture that resembles the intertwined flaps and folds of the labia. Produced by assembling sheets of thin, yellowish-pink latex into organic clusters held together with metal snap closures, this work belongs to the feminist art movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Wilke relished pointing out western culture’s contradictory views on beauty and femininity: many of the most famous paintings and sculptures are depictions of nude women made by male artists, and yet portrayals of female anatomy are considered taboo. In addition, women have had limited opportunities to become artists and represent female sexuality from their own point of view. Brimming with ever-multiplying, manifold layers, White Plains reflects the complexity of the female body as a site of obsession, desire, and vulnerability.