Housewife

In “Housewife”, Delaye articulates with subtlety and visual power the dichotomy between the domestic façade and the inner tension of the contemporary woman. The central figure, set in a classic domestic setting, holds a a symbolic object that becomes an emblem of the female routine: the house as a stage, the home as a theater of the everyday.

The expression on the protagonist’s face – a mixture of resignation, weariness and something that defies the environment – breaks with the stereotype of the submissive housewife. There is no glamour in housework; there is a questioning look. The visual montage suggests an undercurrent of silent struggle: is it escape, introspection or protest?

This portrait refers directly to the feminist critique of Simone de Beauvoir and Germaine Greer, who denounced that the role of “housewife” locks women into a repetitive cycle, with no personal fulfillment or creative outlet.

Delaye’s mise-en-scène seems to take up this idea: the image of the housewife becomes a metaphor for an imposed practice, but also for resistance.

The use of color and light in the photograph-a recognizable Delaye trademark-reinforces this tension between the showy and the oppressive. As the artist confesses, she uses intense colors to explore the contrasts between “life and death, joy and depression”. Here, that palette tinged with domesticity creates an atmosphere that, at first glance, might seem serene, but which becomes tense the closer we look.

The title, Housewife, becomes a provocation: a word loaded with history, expectations and stigma that Delaye reinterprets as a call to question the standard narrative. We return to seeing the house not as a refuge, but as a symbolic prison of unchosen roles.

This text invites us to reflect on how social structures are reflected in a single image: Delaye confronts us with the reality of the historical and current figure of the housewife, more complex than routine allows us to see.

• Hahnemühle fine art paper
• not frame
• 3 0f a kind 40 x 60 cm
• Authenticity Certificate numbered and signed by the artist

• Shipping : 7-9 business days for domestic shipments, 14-16 business days for international shipments.
• Because it is a final sale there are not returns.

ABOUT LADY KUNST

Lady Kunst’s work is a mixture of apathy, courage and desperation. For Lady Kunst, life is a theater in which we are all protagonists. Lady Kunst’s work focuses on political and commercial aspects, making a severe criticism of the current values of society, especially luxury, consumption and advertising.

“My work is a mixture of apathy, courage and desperation. In order better represent the political issues of the society, I had created the fictional figure of Lady Kunst.“

Jacqueline Delaye has a multidisciplinary background based in social studies and arts. She studied Social Anthropology in Mexico city. Cinema and Tv in Barcelona and Art and Culture Management in Paris. She worked as a video artist and documentary filmmaker around Europe.

After living in different countries like USA, England, France, Spain, Italy and México Jacqueline moved to Berlin, Germany her home since 15 years.

in 2019 she moved for 4 years to the archipelago Azores, on the island of Sao Miguel, in order to take the inspiration of nature. Now she came back to the great city of Berlin to keep breathing the inspiration of human society.

I started in the art world when I was 19 years old…continue reading