In light of its most recent haute couture show, French luxury brand, Dior officially launched its Spring Summer 2020 ready-to-wear collection in an ‘inclusive garden’ space crafted by creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri. Since then, the brand is proud to present a follow-up exhibition entitled, ‘The Female Divine’ by American feminist artist and art educator, Judy Chicago at the Rodin Museum garden.
Resembling a sacred environment, the 225 foot-long and 45 foot-high inflatable space not only serves as a manifestation of a goddess figure, popularized in the late 1970s but was designed in honor of a personal request by Maria Grazia.
The highly immersive installation which plasters a series of provocative questions on 21 hoisted, hand-appliqued banners in an enormous womblike chamber with a curved mauve ceiling and soft lilac carpeting – thus reflects Maria’s particular attention to the history of feminist art, both in terms of formal inspirations and her approach to true creative collaborations.
Heavily inspired by exchanges with the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the American poet Robin Morgan and the Italian artist Tomaso Binga – Maria’s latest collections are beyond intuitive and emanate powerful feminine energy.
The Female Divine thus, aims to present an alternative history in which matriarchal principles are applied in the 21st century. Inviting guests to proactively reconsider gender roles and the subsequent power relationships that have since determined the way society functions as a whole, the installation is currently on display up till the 26th of January – marking the first time that a Dior show has given rise to a public exhibition.