La Poupée contains 10 iterations of Hans Bellmer’s signature tableaus of mutilated and reconstituted mannequin and machine parts in contorted positions. Created as the Nazis rose to power, the work embodies Bellmer’s personal and political frustrations while addressing the failures of Western society to contain the base needs and violent impulses of humanity. Building off the doll as a symbol of childhood innocence and exploration, Bellmer plays out dark fantasies that manifest the constrictions of gender identity and sexual expression. To Bellmer and other Surrealists, dolls and automatons became stand-ins for the disconnect between human body and modern life.