All across the city, from The Met to Dimes Square, the art/fashion divide—or lack thereof—is the talk of the moment. At Null Object, a gallery founded by creative director Nikki Mirsaeid and cinematographer Alex Gvojic, Zoe Whalen has made a bewitching installation with pieces from her fall 2026 Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen collection. Whalen caused a sensation at the end of that show, when in a filmy white and padded dress, she immersed herself in a claw-footed tub at the end of the runway, an act of rebirth. “It’s a real love letter to a body—and probably my body in particular,” the designer said at the time.
In the new exhibition there’s a stand-in for Whalen’s body in the form of a Hans Bellmer–esque patchwork mannequin, made using leftover scraps from the collection. This lady has truly come undone; one of her arms lies on the floor beside the tub and a detached and beshoed leg extends beyond the rim. Suspended sculpturally on fishing line, three witchy ensembles surround the tub. Unlike Macbeth’s crones, these are benevolent, bodyless figures. “I had this vision of creating a triptych of figures watching over her using the themes and pieces from the collection…[that are] representative of life and death and rebirth.”
Affirming Mirsaeid’s assertion that “there’s a ritual quality to everything [Whalen] makes,” in the far left corner of the rectangular space is a small altar over which a boxy TV plays the fall show. A bit back and to the right of the tub scene, Whalen has ingeniously constructed a rack out of stair bannisters on which she’s displaying tie-on bras and bloomers made of vintage materials, which are for sale. With its steel walls, the jewel-box sized gallery, “was designed to disappear into whatever it’s holding,” said Gvojic. “It’s an industrial backdrop that can become anything. What excited us about working with Zoe is that she brought something primal and elemental into that environment.”
Null Object is located at 146 East Broadway. “Repose/Reprieve” is on view through June 5, 2026.
