Last Thursday in New York, Prune unveiled a 13 feet tall Amazonian woman with a wounded breast, inspired by Greek mythology and a marble statue on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the first chapter of a new developing myth, The Amazon was celebrated in an incense ceremony and public performance accompanied by Jon Batiste on solo piano.  Rooted in her intimate experience of breast cancer, and echoing a once claimed tradition that the Amazons cut off their right breast to be more competent archers, Prune Nourry will later on break one of the breasts from The Amazon’s bust in a cathartic gesture, during a secret ceremony.

The Amazon is a contemporary urban warrior. Installed in the street, she is made of cement and concrete, the basic building blocks of New York City and the foundation of The Standard, High Line itself; she will fight for her life in an imbalanced world. Similar to Destruction Is Not The End – a ruined, fragmented monumental Buddha created by Prune Nourry for the Museum of National Asian Arts in Paris – The Amazon is partly covered with red incense sticks, recalling both acupuncture needles and ex-votos. She evokes a deity calling for care and healing – her gaze is iridescent, her glass eyes making her feel alive. The concrete woman aims to deliver a message to all women, warriors and survivors.

Prune's Amazon resonates with her previous work. Interested in tribes of women warriors, the artist created her own all-female army in 2014, The Terracotta Daughters, 108 Chinese girls made of clay silently fighting for memory, the memory of millions of daughters who were never born in China because of the strong cultural preference for sons, resulting in sex selection before or at birth.  The army was buried in a secret location, where a handful of participants witnessed the birth of a contemporary archeological site.  The army is scheduled to be excaved in 2030.

The sculpture will be on display on The Plaza at The Standard, High Line in June-July.  In the fall, the Amazon will be sold at auction; part of the proceeds will be donated toward education regarding cancer-preventative lifestyles, wellness, and support for women living with cancer.

‘A Catharsis Sculpture’: An Artist Makes a Monument to Cancer Survivors

Solo Show, Art Brussels, Galerie Templon, Brussels, Belgium / Apr 19-22, 2018 (preview Apr 18)

Standard High Line Plaza, New York City, USA / Jun - Oct 2018

Les Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles, France / Jul 2 - Sept 23 (info: https://www.rencontres-arles.com/fr/expositions/view/270/prune-nourry)

Group show, Hybrids: The Body As Imaginary, organized by the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes (MPBA) and Museo Nacional de Antropología (MNA), Mexico City / Mar 6 - May 27, 2018
More info : http://museopalaciodebellasartes.gob.mx/hibridos/