CORE: Sexual Healing

Carlo Mollino was an Italian architect and designer. After his death, thousands of erotic polaroids were discovered stashed away in a cabinet in his home. These polaroids showed women styled for the camera in varying stages of undress and retouched to become Mollion’s idealised version of the female.

Samantha Roddick has taken Mollino’s hidden polaroids, and recreated these images using women of all ages, shapes and ethnicity to “transform his hidden shame into treasure”. Her exhibition, Hidden Within, examines objectification of women within our culture, this exhibition hopes to change our perspective on sex.

This exhibition explores the idea of voyeurism and the male gaze as being related to society’s notion of anxiety and shame towards sex. Feminist Roddick and former owner of  Coco De Mer, a luxurious sex emporium, began the store to change how we culturally identify with sex. Roddick used the store to educated and support women’s rights by promoting feminism, sexual empowerment and issues concerning consent.

Her view is that sex isn’t simply a way to procreate, it’s “about personal freedom and communication”, this is exemplified in her exhibition. Roddick has shed light on Carlo Mollino’s ‘dark mystery’, removing shame on erotic images.

The Michael Hoppen Gallery will unveil Roddick’s first artistic project on March 20.