Basin

The human body is Kiki Smith's primary subject matter. As she puts it "I think I chose the body as a subject, not consciously, but because it is the one form that we all share; it's something that everybody has their own authentic experience with." ('Kiki Smith', The Hague 1990, p.132). Kiki Smith's approach to the human body is not scientific, but rather her interest is founded on her own personal observation and intimate experiences which often become almost embarrasing to the viewer. It is an existential study of the body; "an art that is anti-intellectual and visceral. Unlike a number of artists of her generation who have taken a detached stance towards the self, Smith goes straight to the core of the being. Representations of flayed bodies, internal organs, and secretions form the nucleus of her work. Sometimes raw, these images are a powerful impetus for self-examination; they force one to explore the relationship between the body and the self, how this relationship is perceived in a given culture, and how social conventions affect our perceptions of ourselves and others." (ibid pp.141-142).

"Basin" 1990, a lifesize plaster cast of the artist's body in a foetal position, which refers specifically to a woman's ability to generate life. The plaster functions as a womb which although it protects the foetus is itself fragile. According to Paolo Colombo, the womb is also a potent political image for Smith since it is the female symbol of the physiological difference between man and woman. It symbolizes the ongoing struggle for women's reproductive rights and stands as a focal point in the feminist debate on the female reproductive system as a form of repression in a patriachal society.
In using the cast to mimic the womb and as a "basin" or container of life, Smith makes use of her own body to raise important political questions about gender and sexuality.