La vérité sortant du puits (Truth Coming Out of Her Well), Fountain sculpture, Resin, 2021.

Truth Coming Out of Her Well is a feminist reinterpretation of a sculpture of the same title by the French artist Fanny Marc (1858–1937).

Truth has been depicted as a nude woman by numerous artists across the late 19th and early 20th centuries – including Jean-Léon Gérôme and Édouard Debat-Ponsan – in an oblique reference, perhaps, to the expression ‘the naked truth’. In line with this tradition, Marc’s sculpture portrays Truth bare and with her eyes closed, her right arm reaching for the sky.

Fattouh’s sculpture depicts Truth as the artist herself. Here, the artist-figure is menstruating, her period blood collecting at her feet. The mirror she’s holding in her right hand reflects the sunlight, bathing the entire space in a bright luster.   

Menstruation remains a taboo subject in numerous cultures today, with many women associating it with filth or shame. Fattouh’s work is a celebration of the female form in all its glory. A tribute to the menstruating body, the artist’s work is both empowering and liberating.