Artist Huang Duoduo on representation of female Behaviour

Author : Lucille Enel
Published on : February 10, 2025 | Last modified on : April 10th, 2025 at 1:14 pm

While researching the young Chinese art scene, I came across Huang Duoduo’s Bridge Icon series, which immediately caught my attention. In this project, she explores the history of so-called “mad women” through archival images, selecting similar poses and re-enacting them herself. Her work draws a connection between the Maenad—a frenzied female figure from Greek mythology—and 20th-century medical iconography of female mental illness, documented by Dr. Charcot. By juxtaposing these images across time, she highlights how these poses, though culturally and historically distinct, have consistently been tied to stigmatizing narratives of female behaviour.