Between Shame and Want

Year : 2017
Dimension : 28 × 14.5 × 10 cm (Height × Length × Depth)
Weight : 410 grams
Edition Size : Unique piece
Base Price : Sold
Artist : Mahmood Rafati
Material : Polished natural wood, black metal chain, curved and exaggerated figure
Technique : Sculpting with polished natural wood to create a seated, exaggerated figure; incorporating a black metal chain as a symbol of oversight or emotional burden; and designing branch-like extensions emerging from the back instead of arms

A reclining figure with exaggerated form, its limbs replaced by branching extensions. A black chain drapes from its back—perhaps a weight, perhaps a signal. *Between Shame and Want* is the portrayal of a person caught between two forces: desire and restraint. It is not a passive body, nor a willing one—it questions the viewer’s role in creating or consuming what is seen. Does the figure exist like this, or only through our gaze?