Cream pie | Collection Co–selection

In 2006, Maurycy Gomulicki’s exhibition – Pink Not Dead! – featuring artists from Poland and Mexico was held at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art . The aim of the project was to show the diversity – from innocence to evil – of contexts and meanings of the colour pink across different cultures. One of the works presented at this exhibition was the Cream Pie photograph. It depicts a pink rose in full bloom, partially covered in a cream-coloured, liquid substance.

The blooming rose is a metaphor of a girl, simultaneously sensual and delicate. The rose depicted in the photo symbolizes beauty and purity and the droplets of dew visible on some petals emphasize its freshness. However, the title refers to the sphere of consumption, the symbol of which is the mystery substance. It penetrates between the petals, suggesting sexual activities and depriving the rose of its purity.

The artist shows how the feminine and attractive – in the sense of sensual beauty and pleasure – is being transformed into an object of male consumption associated with sophisticated indulgence. He consciously created an ambiguous image whose meaning depends on the outlook of the viewer.