Savage beauty

Last year, one of my faculty class (compared literature) was about Phaedra's myth. We had to study Seneque's piece, Racine's piece (both classics) and also Sarah Kane's version of it. I had never heard of this english woman. I humbly admit that the first time I read her Phaedra's Love, I found it provocative, gross and downed by a general nonsense.
BUT I had to somehow analyze it and came to read it a second time. Also, the teacher sent us a presentation of the book, notably field with explanations given by Kane herself. Those echoes from the otherworld allowed me to understand the base of the thing. For what I can shortcut it, Kane intended to put the blazed society -that can't see how monstrous she became- in front of a truth and choking mirror. Add to this that during one class, a dear fellow proposed a parallel between Kane and Alexander McQueen.

Shame on me I haven't realized it before.
My comrade explained that beside the fact that they both committed suicide at a young age, both their works are provocative and disturbing. For me, I was unable to put words on it. I had this impression of a same mix of decadence and greatness. Also this importance given to death. I finally went to the Savage Beauty exhibition in New York and I find there not words, but an image to put on my impression. It was that vision you have at the end of the exhibit : a window containing a fat half-human corpse. This window suddenly turns into a mirror and you see yourself, in place of the monster.

McQueen and Kane have both in their way, put the society in front of a mirror, tempting to show us the monsters we're coming to be. In both case they make good use of their sense of beauty and power to deliver the message.