To Lure, to Hunt, to Catch

To Lure, to Hunt, to Catch is an exhibition by Valentino Vannini and Joanna Wierzbicka curated by Sophie Nowakowska that explores power, seduction, and bodily display. Drawing on animal tails and historical garments such as codpieces, the exhibition explores how bodies communicate dominance, vulnerability, and desire, and how function becomes exaggeration. Elements such as padding, straps, and harnesses appear as cultural symbols of control, sexuality, and display. The installation takes cues from the atmosphere of a masquerade ball, where attraction and power are unstable and constantly shifting. Joanna Wierzbicka’s tails suggest a half-human, half-animal figure that resists fixed categories. The tail becomes a sensory extension of the body, linked to instinct, wildness, and the often-overlooked back of the body. Working with dyed fabrics, second-hand clothing, wigs, and horse-riding equipment, she brings what is usually hidden into focus. Valentino Vannini’s codpieces draw on hyper-masculinity, allowing fragility to surface within it. They reference on visual languages from gay culture through soft padding, straps, jockey wear, and sportswear, highlighting the erotic charge of garments that shape and frame the body. Recast in materials such as wall construction-grade plaster and wax, the works playfully yet confrontationally address the viewer.