The Walking Sisters

myminifactory

After the Second World War, numerous European countries initiated ambitious rebuilding projects. In the Netherlands, this push towards a brighter future sparked a new era in design and architecture, which was already taking shape in the Surrealist and Abstract movements before the war. The dominance of design profoundly impacted sculpture, a closely related field, allowing the modernist movement to flourish rapidly throughout the Low Countries. As design continued to evolve, Dutch and Flemish sculptors created more streamlined, unadorned forms and shapes, positioning themselves between figuration and abstraction. These three sculptures by Elia Ajolfi embody an idealized concept of women from the early 20th century rather than a genuine representation of women from the 1960s. These impersonal forms evoke a bygone era that is rapidly disappearing, brutally displaced by two World Wars.