Soft Sculptures

Sexuality
& body image

“I ́m EU size 46 and I don’t fit the traditional beauty standards: I have cellulite, rolls, bumps and stretch marks. Fat shaming is built-in in our culture. People of all shapes and sizes learn from early age to hate themselves and all this is reinforced by media to sell us more cellulite creams, wonder bras and gym memberships.”

Body shaming has deep roots in our culture. It is not just a matter of weight, but also of age, gender and body shape. Our generation is also the first to have access to unlimited free pornography. How has this shaped out perspective on body and sexuality?

Artist Milla Vaahtera’s series of soft
sculpture handels these subjects. Vaahtera has worked on the topic before in photography series published in Rivo magazine. She has also worked as a plus size model for 5 years.

The sculptures present female sexuality from an active point of view an lift our body shame topics to a pedestal. They comment body shame as a genderless issue, even though artist perspective is female and abstract. In the work Vaahtera combines her designer skills and artistic expression. With art, standards of beauty can be formed and collective shame diminished.

Sculpture series

“I want to reach those who secretly
shame and hate their bodies and show
that the beauty is in the humaneness”
Artist Milla Vaahtera

2018

MATERIAL
Foam rubber and fabric

PHOTOS
Juha Arvid Helminen

STYLING
Helena Taylor & Hanna
Kutvonen