A Russian fashion designer and socialite has found herself at the centre of an internet backlash after an online magazine published a photo of her sitting on a chair made from the mannequin of a tied-up, half-naked black woman on Martin Luther King Day.
Dasha Zhukova, partner of Russian billionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, is depicted sitting casually on the chair, which is built to resemble a black woman, naked save for knee-high boots, elbow-length gloves and hotpants.
The photograph was uploaded on Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday in the United States to commemorate the life of the civil rights activist.
The image, which was used to promote an interview with the 32-year-old fashion designer on Russian style website Buro 24/7, has has since been removed from Instagram and the picture cropped on its wesbite.
"We are against racism or gender inequality or anything that infringes upon anyone's rights", said Buro 24/7 editor Miroslava Duma in a statement.
"We love, respect and look up to people regardless of their race, gender or social status."
The chair, which has a cushion on the back of the mannequin's thighs, is reminiscent of the 1969 fibreglass piece "Chair" by pop aritist sculptor Allen Jones, which depicts a white woman in a similar pose.
The artwork by Norwegian artist Bjarne Melgaard is one of a series that “reinterprets art historical works from artist Allen Jones as a commentary on gender and racial politics”, said a spokesman for Ms Zhukova.
Ms Zhukova herself added: “This photograph, which has been published completely out of context, is of an artwork intended specifically as a commentary on gender and racial politics.
“I utterly abhor racism, and would like to apologise to anyone who has been offended by this image.”
Share
