Big Mama

In this women’s issue this statement of a chair could not be omitted. Designed in 1968 by Gaetano Pesce, the curvaceous chair resembles the torso of a woman and it recalls the ancient fertility icons, depicting the ultimate mother/woman: big, round and nurturing. But it isn’t only cheerful: the round ball – the ottoman – shows the less romantic image of a woman attached to a ball and chain, a prisoner. ‘Women suffer under the preconceptions of men and the chair should put this up for discussion,’ Pesce explained at the time. The Blow Up is still in production, through B&B Italia.

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illustration by Xaviera Altena