A woman – beautiful, dressy and in principle passive. An object of male desire. Nobody has managed to better show the mechanism of desire than Ferderico Fellini in his ‘Casanova’. The main character’s dance with a female mannequin is the essence of a love game. He – a courtly and stylish gentleman, seduces in dance and aims at gratification. She – knows what her partner wants and is helpless to resist his desires, which does not mean she is unwilling. Her slight resistance only makes her more desirable, but in reality she is submissive. She is just a mannequin, an empty shell without a soul, that can be used as one desires. He displays proper manners to look beautiful to himself, impressing himself not his partner. We all know how it is going to end. We do not even need to watch…

Special thanks to Melanie Tebb and Hollywood Classics for authorisation to include a clip of Federico Fellini’s Casanova in the exhibition.