Photo: Maxwell Attenborough
Photo: Maxwell Attenborough
Photo: Maxwell Attenborough
Nicola Turner British, b. 1967
La Petite Mort, 2026
Welsh wool, aluminium stand and net
172 x 47 x 41 cm
Further images
Title reference: La petite mort is a French expression that literally translates to 'the little death' and is widely used as a euphemism for an orgasm. La petite mort (French...
Title reference: La petite mort is a French expression that literally translates to "the little death" and is widely used as a euphemism for an orgasm.
La petite mort (French for "the little death") is an idiom that originally described a faint, a nervous spasm, or a brief loss of consciousness, and in modern usage most famously refers to the sensation of an orgasmas a fleeting, transcendental state likened to dyingIncorporating light or dark wool, netted and teetering on tailor’s shears and tripods, Turner's freestanding sculptures have a powerful yet elegant presence. As Hettie Judah describes, they “offset their earthy, bestial nature by deploying a veneer of delicacy”, referencing in their titles ideas around female desire, bodily shame and emotional secrecy.
