“My main goal is to inspire people to touch, use and keep in their hand a cup that inevitably reminds of our human condition; of perpetual life.”
Delia Prvacki, 2013.

From fertility symbol to the curious censor of infant nursing in public spaces, the female breasts have occupied human imagination every which way.

This tongue-in-cheek collection is artist Delia Prvacki’s (b.1950) celebration of genesis, transformation, multiplication and continuity in women’s experiences. And, one might add, an ode to the artist’s daughter, Ana, and 3-year-old granddaughter, Divna.

The limited edition set of 11 pieces consists of 6 “breast cups” representing the stages in a woman’s development from puberty to adulthood to maturity, and includes an egg-shape base and spoon. The vessels are designed for multiple functions. For example, a cup may be turned over and used as a cover over the tray. According to the artist, the collection owes its impetus from “the moment when I became a grandmother and I was impressed by my daughter’s dedication and determination to breastfeed her baby.” But, the idea for a collection of functional ware based on the breast form has had a longer gestation and connects back to an earlier impulse in the artist’s life. In 1986, Prvacki exhibited a body of work with a similar family of forms at the Belgrade Museum of Applied Art. Around that time, the little girl, Ana, was asking questions about the body and, was particularly curious about the mother’s breasts. In response, the artist-mother made her daughter a small amulet in the shape of the breast and told the little one with characteristic wit,  “one breast is for milk, and the other one for tea.” A similar sense of play and irreverence is detectable in the collection currently available for order.  The collection is named Dulcinea, after the mistress and muse of Cervantes’ well-loved knight errant – a nickname the artist uses on her grand daughter - evoking the sensuality and romance of the tale. Produced from prototypes hand-built in the artist’s studio, the free hand of the artist is here preferred over the uniformed regularity of computerised rendering. Another distinguishing feature of the collection is in how very naturally the pieces fit in the palm of a hand or the crook of a body.

Sensuous and contemporary. Bold. Curious. Elegant and evocative. These pieces are made to be held, and invite contemplation on the body and mind connection. As the artist says, “my main goal is to inspire people to touch, use and keep in their hand a cup that inevitably reminds of our human condition, of perpetual life.”

Delia Prvacki was born in Romania and moved to Singapore with her family in 1992 where she has made significant contributions to the city’s landscape, and contemporary art with large scale public installations and commissioned work. With the Dulcinea Collection, the artist is embarked on a challenge to produce objects d’ art that are serviceable at the same time that they are provocative. The Latin, Naturalia non sunt turpia (What is natural is not dirty) and Mens sana in corpore sano (A sound mind in a sound body) underscore the work.

The Dulcinea collection expressly connects the artist’s sensibility and experiences of intimacy with those of women here and everywhere. And, with the rare pleasure of an ironic nod at the quixotic obsession we have for the breasts.

Delia became a Singapore citizen in 2002, together with her husband, painter, Milenko Prvacki.

Dana Lam