Article De Limburger on Statue of Liberty full of nipples

Translation in English:

Statue of Liberty with hundreds of nipples as a statement by artist from Geleen against ‘nipple taboo’ on social media

09-04-2022 by Geertjan Claessens

The Geleen artist Edwin IJpeij wants to get rid of the ‘nipple taboo’ on social media. He made a work of art in response to the censorship of artistic nudes. That was revealed on Thursday evening at a new exhibition in Brussels.
Facebook banned Edwin IJpeij last year, according to the social medium his messages with artworks with artistic nude were not acceptable. IJpeij sees this censorship as a form of oppression of women and freedom, based on the ‘prude’ American rules against ‘obscenities’. That would contribute to inequality.

Since the Facebook ban, the artist has made censorship his mission by fighting social media. The taboo on showing nipples must be removed as far as he is concerned. In response to the censorship, he made the oil painting Reflexi. On the pop art-like canvas, the Statue of Liberty is covered with hundreds of nipples. The painting was unveiled on Thursday evening by a Ukrainian model at the Espace Art Gallery in Brussels at the opening of the exhibition ‘The Magic of Chemistry in Erotic Art’.

The work should contribute to a debate to end the taboo on showing nudity. Due to the ban from his work, IJpeij is less active on Instagram and Facebook. The Geleen artist previously made the news when he took nude photos of the Bussum model Joy Draiki in the open air in Maastricht, which were incorporated in his exhibition Sensual in the City. A Belgian gallery that showed his works was also closed by Facebook for some time. That is inconsistent, according to IJpeij, because social media tolerate other works of art with nudes.

IJpeij sees his work as an ode to the freedom, beauty and purity of women, who must contribute to equal rights.

The canvas is divided into 3200 squares called NPLs, an abbreviation for ‘nipples’. Anyone can adopt a box for a fee. The first ones have already been sold. Part of the proceeds from the new exhibition will go to the Dutch foundation Free A Girl, which stands up for girls’ rights and against sexual exploitation.

NPO Radio 4 interview De vier Jaargetijden van Passaggio

On November 18 2021, Edwin was interviewed on the national Dutch radio (NPO Radio 4) about the relationship of the previous mines and art. Edwin also explains his artistic mission that was very well received.