I LOVE THE SMELL OF MY PUSSY positions Krista Papista inside the scene of Florentina Holzinger’s theatre piece Apollon. Papista becomes a contemporary Venus or Aphrodite, emerging from a classical backdrop of clouds, into the symbolic world of the surrealists.

Apollon is a reinterpretation of George Balanchine’s eponymous Apollon Musagète with an all female cast. Attributes of the feminine are examined: what does the perfect woman want and what does the audience want from her?

Papista and Holzinger share polemic messages unifying this collaboration: An emancipation of the female from patriarchal oppression, rejection of feminine stereotypes and objectified form as subject purely for the male gaze – as well as a celebration of self-pleasure, pain and sisterhood. These artists are provocateurs, making bold feminist statements in their respective fields.

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