Femmy Otten's Sculpture We Once Were One Reinterpreted at Rijksmuseum Exhibition
Femmy Otten's sculpture We Once Were One (2022) is featured in the Metamorfosen exhibition at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Art critic Maurits de Bruijn initially interpreted the work as signaling a new era with women taking space, but upon encountering it at the museum, he revised his view. He now sees the title as emphasizing the unity between humans and wood, suggesting that before culture existed, we were nature. This perspective rejects hierarchical thinking rather than proposing a new power structure.
Key facts
- Femmy Otten created the sculpture We Once Were One in 2022
- The work is part of the Metamorfosen exhibition at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
- Maurits de Bruijn is an art critic who analyzed the sculpture
- De Bruijn's interpretation shifted from seeing it as heralding a new era for women to viewing it as rejecting hierarchies
- The sculpture's title references the idea that humans and wood were once unified before culture emerged
Entities
Artists
- Femmy Otten
Institutions
- Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Locations
- Amsterdam