La Cicciolina

In Ciao Bella, Rose represents various female characters in a parody of the Last Supper. As in the British artist Yinka Shonibare’s Diary of a Victorian Dandy, Rose’s film recreates carnivalesque figures drawn from European history, literature and culture, around which she acts out alternative and subversive narratives. The characters are recognisable figures, from Lolita to Saartjie Baartman.

The person featured in La Cicciolina is the famous Italian porn star turned art world muse and wife of superstar American artist Jeff Koons. Rose satirises the misogynist undertones of the art world and its obsession with celebrity and wealth, and offers a stinging critique of the representation of women in western art and culture.

Artwork courtesy of South 32 Collection.