This image depicts a male and female couple wrapped in white, blanched gauze, their heads tied together into a cocoon like, sculptural form. Like many of Mapplethorpe’s photographs a careful balance of opposites is created here between male and female, oppression and freedom, ecstasy and pain. Mapplethorpe took reference from Auguste Rodin’s expressive and erotic late 19th and early 20th century sculptures throughout his career and his influence can be seen in the sensual movement and energy of this photograph.