HISTORY

Breastfeeding for change

A black woman nursing a white baby.
This picture is the quintessential photo of the season of Fabrica’s revolutionary advertising for United Colors of Benetton throughout the eighties and nineties.
A symbolic subject stands out over a white background. The product takes a backseat. The viewer is asked to ponder what appears to be racial prejudice. In the end, the picture takes on the taboo of nudity, while tearing down the wall between marketing and society.
Launched for the Fall Winter 1989-90 Campaign, this photograph led to global controversy. The African-American community in the United States protested and obtained its withdrawal from the United States.
Several other images of those years experienced the same fate, winning prizes while being censored all over the world.