M HKA Ensembles

Object, 180 x 115 x 130 cm.

Collection: collectie Vlaamse Gemeenschap, Langdurige bruikleen S.M.AK. Gent (Inv. no. WV6).

After Molly Peters this was Panamarenko's second felt doll, and it too was made following the likeness of a picture from Playboy.  Feltra, monochrome white, sits provocatively with legs crossed in a leather chair.  During the De Premiere van de Hersen­expansie in Kleuren! (The Premier of Brain Expansion in Color), at the Wide White Space Gallery in Antwerp, Feltra dangles from the ceiling just like Molly Peters.

The name Feltra does not refer to the name of the Playboy model, but rather to the brand name of the felt serving to cover the doll.  Panamarenko purchased the felt in a local store, Veritas.  The brand name was printed on the inside of the felt.  In order to attain the right form and pose,

Panamarenko first shaved the polystyrene with a coarse rasp, and then used sandpaper for the finish.  Even without the felt cover, the dolls looked very well.  But the felt was necessary to hold everything together.  Otherwise, they would have lost their shape long ago.

'Feltra? That came from the Veritas store, that was just the name, the brand of that felt.' - Panamarenko

(source: Hans Willemse and Paul Morrens, in: 'Copyright Panamarenko', 2005)