Artist Makes “Porcelain” Weapons To Explore What It Means To Be A Woman

Helena Hauss is a 29-year-old French artist who was “bored and raised” in Paris, where she currently resides. While mostly known for her extremely detailed ball-point pen drawings, Hauss has recently branched out into the world of sculptures.

More: Helena Hauss, Instagram h/t: boredpanda

In an interview with Bored Panda, Helena detailed her decision to switch media. “There were some things inside me I wanted to express which I felt I couldn’t do with just a drawing, I wanted to go beyond that. I needed to create an actual object that would say it all once you saw it,” she explained. “Something allegoric, a metaphor where people could go, “Here. This is exactly how I’ve been feeling all this time”.

She titled her ‘porcelain’ project ‘Hell Hath no Fury’. “It’s an approach to represent the inner strength and fury that comes with being a woman, in contrast to an appearance of delicacy we’re too often branded with,” the artist elaborated. “Women have repeatedly been construed as the “weaker sex” and are regularly being preyed on or diminished in some way or another,” Hauss continued on the inspiration behind her sculptures. “Too often portrayed as fragile and delicate, this project is an expression of the contrasting subtleties that come with femininity, as well as an attempt at vindication from a feeling of constant vulnerability that’s been forced upon us.” The ‘ceramic’ weapons are a symbol of ‘inner strength, fury, and empowerment’.

Even though the sculptures look delicate and bring out the images of precious china sets hidden in a cupboard, they are actually very sturdy. Hauss made polyurethane (a polymer that can be used for sculpting) look like porcelain, a very fragile material. “I wanted something strong that wouldn’t break easily, as a metaphor for its subject. Something that would look like Porcelain but actually isn’t,” the artist explained.