Nicole Wassall

The gagged statue images form part of a collection of work loosely
referred to as ‘Bouville’.

'Bouville' references an interaction between Simone de Beauvoir and
Jean-Paul Sartre, which took place in a cafe near Euston Station.
Sartre believed he could capture the essence of London in a sentence
and she did not. Sartre later wrote a book (La Nausée) about Le Havre,
which he called Bouville, in this instance Beauvoir believed he had
managed to capture the essence of a place.

The discussion between the two writers remains a point of
contemplation for feminists. Did Sartre succeed in capturing the
essence of Le Havre or did Simone de Beauvoir fall into a classic
female trap?

The piece is an ongoing work and captures an open ended reflection of
a city and its history though its (gagged) sculptures, in this
instance London. For Precious Mettle 2 images were chosen:
- one which captures a gagged female statue of Victory (with the
statue of Lady Justice, on the dome above the court of the Old Bailey
in the distance)
- the second captures a gagged statue of a young woman (the statue is
of a naked artists model and is situated along the river Thames)