Nicola L. at Galerie Pierre Alain, with her ‘Eye Table Lamp’ © Michel Lunardelli / Leemage, 2008
Running until December 29 at Camden Art Centre in London, Nicola L: I Am The Last Woman Object is an exhibition that challenges our perceptions of art, the female body, and the objectification of women.
The show focuses on the work of the late Morocco-born French artist Nicola L, whose innovative and provocative pieces from the 1960s and 1970s brought together the female form and everyday objects like furniture, lamps, and ironing boards. This merging of the human body with functional objects allowed her to explore questions of female objectification, societal roles, and the boundaries between art, design, and life itself.
At the heart of Nicola L’s work is a critical examination of the female body as both a site of power and vulnerability, often transforming women into objects for others to use.
At the heart of Nicola L’s work is a critical examination of the female body as both a site of power and vulnerability, often transforming women into objects for others to use. The title of the exhibition references her 1969 work, Little TV Woman: I Am the Last Woman Object, an oversized female figure with a television for a stomach, inviting people to touch, but also signalling the end of her availability as an object for others’ desires. This duality - inviting interaction while critiquing the objectification of women - is a hallmark of Nicola L’s approach.
The Intersection of Art and Functionality
Nicola L’s pieces blur the line between art and function, making visitors question what they’re looking at. Can a chair shaped like a pair of legs or a lamp in the form of lips be both art and furniture? Her works, including lamps designed as heads, sofas shaped like feet, and cabinets formed from torsos, intentionally toy with this confusion. These objects are both playful and unsettling, prompting viewers to question the ways in which women’s bodies have historically been commodified.
These objects are both playful and unsettling, prompting viewers to question the ways in which women’s bodies have historically been commodified.
In one of her most striking pieces, the Femme Commode, Nicola L designed a female figure whose body parts - eyes, breasts, and stomach - open as drawers. The work invites the viewer to interact with the body, but it’s clear that this interaction is on her terms, forcing viewers to confront the troubling history of women’s bodies being used and discarded as mere objects. Her work provokes the question: is it a piece of furniture, or is it art commenting on the very idea of turning a body into something to be used?
A Feminist Legacy
Nicola L’s art carries a strong feminist undertone, addressing themes of autonomy, control, and the body. In her time, the women's liberation movement was gaining momentum, and Nicola L used her work to explore how women were perceived, treated, and valued - both in society and in the art world. Her pieces challenge the cultural norms that tie women to the domestic sphere, using everyday objects to highlight the confinement of women to roles within the home, while also commenting on the general objectification of women in art and consumer culture.
Her pieces challenge the cultural norms that tie women to the domestic sphere, using everyday objects to highlight the confinement of women to roles within the home, while also commenting on the general objectification of women in art and consumer culture.
Although she was not as directly involved in the feminist art movement as some of her contemporaries, Nicola L’s work speaks to a shared understanding among women of the power dynamics surrounding the female body. The artist often referred to her sculptures as “Pénétrables,” pieces that people could physically enter, further emphasising the relationship between body and object. Her intention was to create work that people could interact with, both literally and conceptually, and this interaction reflects the tensions between agency and objectification.
The Impact of Domesticity and the Female Form
The exhibition also features works that comment on domesticity, including objects like an ironing board shaped like a woman and bed sheets featuring images of women who died violent or tragic deaths, such as Joan of Arc and Marilyn Monroe. These pieces combine domesticity with darker themes of violence and exploitation, underscoring how women’s roles in society are often linked to servitude, even in death.
These pieces combine domesticity with darker themes of violence and exploitation, underscoring how women’s roles in society are often linked to servitude, even in death.
Nicola L’s exploration of the female body through objects can be seen as part of a broader tradition of women artists using furniture and domestic items to interrogate gender norms. Artists like Sarah Lucas and Kate Millett similarly played with these themes, using furniture to highlight the ways women’s bodies are viewed and used in patriarchal society. Where Lucas and Millett’s works tend to offer more overtly political statements, Nicola L’s pieces have a playful, even whimsical quality that belies their serious feminist message.
A Modern Reappraisal
The exhibition at Camden Art Centre comes at a time when the boundaries between art, design, and functionality are increasingly blurred, and Nicola L’s work feels more relevant than ever. In a world where the commodification of the female body is still a pressing issue, her sculptures remind us of the historical and ongoing struggle for women’s autonomy over their bodies. By turning women into objects that demand interaction, Nicola L forces the viewer to reckon with the consequences of objectification.
By turning women into objects that demand interaction, Nicola L forces the viewer to reckon with the consequences of objectification.
Camden Art Centre’s director, Martin Clark, hopes this exhibition will elevate Nicola L’s status beyond that of a designer of “fun usable objects,” positioning her instead as a “serious” artist whose work speaks to deeper social issues. In a nod to the preservation of her works, touching and interacting with the sculptures is no longer allowed, contrasting with Nicola L’s original intention for her art to be used and engaged with.
An Exhibition of Humour, Wit and Critical Insight
Nicola L: I Am the Last Woman Object is a thought-provoking exhibition that invites viewers to reconsider the ways women’s bodies have been historically used, objectified, and controlled. Through a mix of humour, wit, and critical insight, Nicola L’s works challenge cultural norms and question the status of women in society, using objects to highlight the intersection between functionality and objectification.
The exhibition, which runs until December 29 at Camden Art Centre, is a must-see for anyone interested in feminist art, the politics of the body, and the ongoing dialogue about gender and representation in the world of art and beyond.
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