Breast is Best. - Pauline Curnier Jardin

Produced on the occasion of Pauline Curnier Jardin's exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof, the t-shirts Breast is Best are inspired by the violent but also fiercely feminist history of the martyrdom of Saint Agatha.
Born in a noble, Christian family, Agatha refused the advances of Roman prefect Quitianus who punished her by imprisoning her, torturing her and finally cutting her breast off with iron pincers. Agatha died in 250 in prison, most likely as a result of her injuries. It is told that one year later, the same day of her martyrdom, the city was engulfed by a volcanic eruption and the only ones who survived were those who found protection in Agatha's tomb and used her veil to shield them from the lava flows.
Many centuries later, the city of Catania still celebrates the fierceness and passionate strength of Agatha every year from the 3rd to the 5th of February. For the occasion, people in Catania walk in a long procession that takes over the entire city centre and eat breast-shaped sweets with the same colours and shape of the prints featured in Curnier Jardin's t-shirts.

Silkscreen on cotton.