Enclosure
2021
Aline Bouvy
A female profile in stainless steel towers above a circle of poisonous plants. The shape refers to the ‘witch’s rein’, a medieval torture device that was used to silence noisy women. The result is both fascinating and uncomfortable: a sculpture that plays with control, humiliation and the boundaries of the body.
Details
- Plan number: M47
- Zone: Human Nature
- Title: Enclosure
- Creator: Aline Bouvy
- Date: 2021
- Material: stainless steel
- Acquisition: loan Collectie Vlaamse Gemeenschap, 2021
- Object number: MID.LB.BK.009663
Bouvy was inspired by feminist theories that link the persecution of witches to the rise of capitalism. The title Enclosure also refers to a historical movement in which common land was privatised and women were increasingly restricted to unpaid, reproductive labour in the private sphere.
At the same time, she examines the shift in the meaning of medieval torture devices. The face strap was once associated with fear and pain, today it is used as a BDSM accessory for lust and pleasure. Symbolically charged plants such as deadly nightshade and foetid helleborus grow within the enclosure — associated with poison, madness and female pleasure. As in other works, Bouvy distorts or enlarges body parts, and combines the physical with the vegetative. This creates an image full of contradiction, vulnerability and strength.
Aline Bouvy (1974) lives and works in Brussels. She is a multidisciplinary artist who explores gender, body and public space. In her work, she challenges social norms and beauty ideals, often critically and playfully at the same time. Bouvy represents Luxembourg at the Venice Biennale in 2026. Her work is exhibited internationally.
From the same artist
Aline Bouvy
Rarely have you seen the female body depicted in this way in public space. The bronze sculpture looks naked, grotesque and almost theatrical. It is playful and uncomfortable. With this work of art, Bouvy questions how female bodies are depicted in the cityscape: as temptation, as a symbol of power, or as something in between?
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