Be a Mimosa!

The Gentle Power of Femininity at After5 Art Escape

How do we perceive womanhood today? What stereotypes are triggered in us? How have these been shaped by the (artistic) portrayal of women and the prevailing attitudes towards them over the past centuries? What strategies can be employed to deconstruct and reform these misconceptions and false preconceptions? The recent exhibition Mimosa reflects on representational strategies used up until the twentieth century, which regarded both plants and women as mere scenery–background decorations and sources of inspiration for male artists. At the same time, it dismantles stereotypes that equate soft, feminine strength with weakness. The Fak Artă group from Timișoara consists of two artists, Ritta Hertz and Bab, who have been exhibiting together since 2023. Their exhibition is on view at the After5 Art Escape gallery in Arad until 28 June.

Ritta Hertz (Andreea Henrietta Hertz) pays tribute to women artists who have played a crucial role in positively changing the perception of women in art and society through her collaged images. As PhD Gabriela Robeci, the curator of the exhibition mentions: “one key reference is photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, (…) who is known for her slightly blurred, motion-filled portraits, which convey the spontaneity of a fleeting moment.” (Robeci, 2025) However, in her time, the artist was harshly criticized for her nonconformist technique, which gained recognition since then. “Her photographic contemporaries criticized her work for being out of focus – which she says she did deliberately – for being ‘slovenly’, as they put it.” – states a BBC article from 2016. From the point of view of Robeci the most important concept and achievement of Hertz’s creations is the reflection upon the shift in social perception of nature and womanhood, “placing both vegetation and femininity at the center of the composition and the artistic discourse.”

Bab‘s (Isabella Elena Becheanu/ Alb Negru) mixed-media works interactively engage viewers in exploring the theme, as her objects can be moved and opened or closed. She is “combining art objects, textiles, sculpture, inserted elements, electricity, small motors and assemblage. (…) Bab encapsulates emotion in art objects equipped with doors, drawers, shelves and handles (…) On a symbolic level, these boxes embody ideas of interiority, protection and self-defense, but also release, opening and reconnection when activated by the viewer.” (Robeci, 2025)

Hearing the word mimosa, people often associate it with negative and degrading features both in its primary meaning and symbolically, referring to women. The main reason of this is the specific behavior of the flower, which immediately closes its leaves when it’s touched or as soon as it detects danger in its environment. This is mostly identified with cowardice, weakness, fragility and prudery, and in many cases it’s used as a label to shame women. The mentioned attitude is a cultural construct of the patriarchal society, which depicts those women as problematic, timid or even rigid, who don’t want to submiss themselves to male gaze and touch. This can also be seen as a manipulative strategy to control women’s bodies and to make them unable to reject unwanted approach, otherwise stigmatizing or ridiculing them. The artworks of the exhibition throw new light upon this toxic and harmful behaviour. They present the dual dynamism of opening and closing as a useful skill of self-defense and survival for women. This ambivalent perception of plants and women is challenged by the series of installations created by Bab, named Simte-m-așa 1−5. (Feel me like this 1−5., 2025). The works replace the traditional concept of power often associated with masculinity, violence and destruction with the image of the constructive and delicate power of femininity. The installations bring several exciting twists to the genre of bust portraiture. Perhaps the most significant one of these is the absence of the head, providing a sharp contrast with the precisely elaborated body, which reminds us of the most renowned representation of the conventional beauty ideal, the ancient Greek marble sculpture, the Venus de Milo. This gesture can bring into the discussion many interesting connotations. On the one hand, it can be interpreted as a conscious rebellion against conventional beauty standards. On the other hand, it may also refer to the experience of anonymity of female artists and intellectuals who have been marginalized from the official cultural and scientific canon and undeservedly forgotten.

The dichotomy between the respect for the representation of femininity and the ridicule of social expectations can be observed in every detail of the installation series  Simte-m-așa. Such as the flower-shaped macramé and crochet patterns on the sculptures, which increase the aesthetic value of the compositions with their subtle elegance. At the same time, they can be a cynical mirror of nineteenth century female fashion trends, where the wearing of lace and other ornate embellishments was often seen as an expectation and a status symbol. Additionally, the activity of crochet and macramé-making is still considered to be mostly a female occupation.

An essential part of Bab’s works are the plants that weave their way through the bust-like figures. Several installations are interwoven with ivy, which is a fitting representation of the female gender through its tenacity, strength and capacity for renewal. Ivy has also become synonymous with femininity in pop culture, as a poisonous species of the plant inspired the figure of DC Comics’ hero Poison Ivy^[1]. One of the installations (Simte-m-așa 3.) features forget-me-nots. This flower creates a fascinating ecofeminist parallel between the appropriated spaces of nature (for example the urbanization of former natural environments for residential, commercial, industrial and transportation purposes) and women exploited by patriarchy. It reminds gently yet firmly society of our presence and reclaims our visibility both in nature and culture.

Another composition (Simte-m-așa 4.) includes a compartment which could be opened and inside from it light emanates through a tiny flower-framed element. It is also important to note that this is the only piece in the series incorporating human hands, which are touching the female figure. All of these, taken together, can again carry a double meaning. On the one hand, it can point to how society tries to control and possess the female body, often treating it as public property. On the other hand, it can also be approached positively, as it can suggest how gentle, consensual touch and attention can help to reveal an intimate inner world that is immediately closed back in case of mistreatment.

This dual mechanism is sensually captured in Ritta Hertz’s individual works (Aenigmatica, Tenera; 2025), which have a lock at their core. This emphasizes that only with the right approach and care can a woman’s inner world be opened up.

The double symbolism of closing and opening is also the central motif of their monumental collaborative artwork Cele trei vârste (The Three (St)ages of Womanhood, 2025) (closed: 104×104 cm; open: 104×208 cm). The installation’s kinetic element, Bab’s openable, cabinet-like structure, embeds Ritta Hertz’s collage works, which, mainly through different newspaper clippings, depict the three defining phases of womanhood and the difficulties that come with them. This way of portraying has a significant tradition in the global discourses of feminist art history. The first female figure represents youth. We can see her blindfolded, that may indicate the conventional associations of naivety and innocence coming from the immaturity of a young age, which has not yet been destroyed by society. The second figure, the mature, middle-aged woman, has her mouth taped down, symbolising the censorship and possible self-censorship inflicted by the norms, conventions and expectations that try to control women. The third figure, an elderly woman, has her hands tied, which indicates her vulnerability, powerlessness and social neglect. How a woman is completely isolated, marginalised and devalued by the patriarchy as she loses her reproductive capacity. This is put into a painful and distressing context by the newspaper clippings around them, which show that, despite the press’ attempts to reflect on important issues of the experience of femininity, these efforts regarding reform often fail, getting reactions of ignorance and ridicule.

However, the elements of the exhibition also draw attention to the beauty of womanhood, the inspiring activity to overcome obstacles and the power of non-violent resistance. This message is most powerfully transmitted by the Fak Artă duo’s smaller-format works. In these pieces, collages are again embedded in openable, wooden frame-like structures, blending together the view of the female face and the natural environment. The creations of the installation series bear names derived from the Latin language (Insolita, Pura, Pudica, Voluptuosa, Trepida; 2025), which refer to both the qualities associated with mimosa and those attributed to women.

In nature Insolita denotes species with atypical characteristics, which on a symbolic level can also be projected onto women with nonconformist, unconventional, rebellious styles and mindsets who refuse to submit to the norms and stereotypical gender roles of patriarchal society. The curatorial statement reflects upon this topic with a fascinating thought: “The road to Tate Modern passes through Arad”^[2]. This is mainly a reflection of the detours women have had to take in the past centuries in parallel with the male-dominated official canon in order to achieve success and recognition.

Their installations Pura and Pudica are also exciting because they can be interpreted in many different ways. According to the curatorial text, they represent the angelic being within us, the childlike purity and innocence based on empathy to which we should reconnect in order to create a better world for all of us. However, in my opinion, it also resonates strongly with the cult of purity that is still present in society and that is imposed on women.

This can be contrasted with their work Voluptuosa, which takes the female body experience out of the male gaze’s objectified perspective and becomes a celebration of female sexuality, sexual pleasure and freedom of choice. A great curatorial idea is that the comments of the participants in the previous exhibition were incorporated into these collages, who were asked to write down their first thoughts and observations on a little piece of paper, thus interactively involving the visitors in the creative process. According to the curatorial statement, one of the visitors wrote “in a hurry” on her note the following: “the vibrator is pink with glitter”^[3]. All this points to a gradual paradigm shift in the verbalization of female sexuality, where, while we are becoming more and more courageous and free to talk about our own needs, there is still a kind of self-containment, taboo and internalized shame around the subject.

Finally, is worthy of mention their installation Quinque Facis Feminae (The Five Faces of Womanhood, 2025), also of monumental proportions (325×200 cm), consisting of five interconnected sections and using the technique of stained glass. The central glass window-like element shows Femina, representing sensitivity, sobriety, vulnerability and invincibility. She buries her face in her palms, but this time the gesture is not a symbol of blindness, but rather a duality of veiling and revealing, because while she can see, her face can’t be seen. This approach can be interpreted as a rebellion against conventional depicting strategies dominated by the male gaze until the twentieth century, which degraded women to the role of aesthetic pleasure, simple decorations or muses. Around her can be seen the personifications of the main attributes of femininity: Venus, Sapiens, Fortis and Mater, which are taken from different cultural backgrounds and united through the artistic vision of the Fak Artă group.

Venus celebrates beauty and the art of seduction. Although she covers her naked body with her hair, this is not motivated by a sense of shame, but rather by a freedom of choice to consciously distance herself and to keep the intimacy of her private sphere. On the other side of Femina is Sapiens, the embodiment of wisdom and experience. Her eyes are covered and a watchful owl rests on her shoulder. The symbolic contrast between her closed eyes and the attentive gaze of the owl suggests the instinctive power of knowledge from within. On the left side of the installation is Fortis, whose representation can be a reference to Munkácsy Mihály’s renowned nineteenth century painting, Woman Carrying Faggot^[4]. She represents the feminine force that drives us forward despite exhaustion, obstacles, injustice and lack of support. She carries a heavy burden, but not only for herself, she is also responsible for someone else. Fortis is most of all the “patron saint” of single mothers, those heroic, surviving women who, although they did not want to be heroes, life forced them to become so. On the right end of the structure is Mater. She is not just a symbol of motherhood, but of a creative force that is intrinsically linked to nature and to her own experience of womanhood.

We often hear the phrase: “Don’t be such a mimosa!” But what I’ve learned from this exhibition is to be unapologetically mimosas, and dare to define our boundaries, to declare what is uncomfortable for us, what is pushing our comfort zone or what we are not willing to tolerate.

Ritta Hertz & Bab: Mimosa (curated by: PhD Gabriela Robeci), After5 Art Escape, Arad, 17 May 2025 – 28 June 2025. 

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[1] Poison Ivy is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino, she debuted in Batman #181 (June 1966) and has become one of the superhero Batman’s most enduring enemies. In her comic book appearances, Poison Ivy is depicted as a doctor of botany-turned-misanthropic ecoterrorist in Gotham City named Pamela Lillian Isley, PhD with the ability to control all plant life.

[2] This can be attributed to Simona Braiț, one of the co-founders of After5 Art Escape Gallery, who wrote it on a note left in the exhibition Fa, March 8th!?, at Helios Gallery, in Timișoara, 2024. This thought-provoking reflection alludes to the circuitous paths women have historically had to navigate outside the male-dominated canon to attain visibility and recognition in the art world.

[3] “vibratorul e roz cu sclipici”

[4] Munkácsy Mihály: Rőzsehordó nő (1873)