Weapons of Male Destruction – ArtBag Sculptures by Debra Franses
May 16, 2022

British artist Debra Franses Bean creates purse sculptures in which trendy consumable items appear to float, suspended. Forever encapsulated in clear resin, the ArtBags excite and tease us with the impossibility of ever using these objects.
Each ArtBag is inspired by women that Debra has met, or pop-culture themes. They define the modern woman, symbolizing prestige, luxury, familiarity, and style.
Inspired by pop-art predecessors, Debra uses humor and irony to comment on how mass production and consumerism had come to dominate much of Western life and culture.
While historians and art collectors often focus on the priceless and timeless objects, Debra does the opposite. Her emphasis is on objects that are designed for consumption in a short period of time – designer lipstick, trendy jewelry, expensive tin of fine caviar, or a technologically innovative phone.
By stripping away the destiny of these objects to be consumable and temporary, Debra empowers them with a new purpose – to become emblems of our time.
Debra carefully selects and prepares each object to ensure that they won’t break or melt in the casting process. The delicate and difficult process involves placing objects within layers of resin into a two-part silicone purse mold. Liquid resin is poured in layers, allowing days per layer to cure and with further objects added one at a time. The completed handbag is then put into a pressurized chamber to remove any air traces. Special care and skills are required to make sure that bubbles do not form. The fully cured purse is then removed from the mold and pressure chamber, sanded, polished, and lacquered.
Every ArtBag has a fun and thought-provoking title that unite the contents of each sculpture. “Weapons of Male Destruction” contain a true arsenal of female power – a red Yves Saint Laurent lipstick, Chanel powder, gold chain, and Bulgari glasses. This and other ArtBags are currently available at East West Fine Art.
To commission a uniquely yours personalized ArtBag call us at 239 691 2484 or email us at info@eastwestfineart.com.







