wearables/ textile art/ garments
Photo Credit: Kelcie Bryant-Duguid
|
stop telling women to smile (pretty in pink)
Wenzhou paper, graphite, Sumi ink, acrylic ink, sewing thread, zipper, pearl button drawing and ink paper garment artist statement There is a language of manners and 'polite behaviour' that is used to dismiss and assert control over women's voices within our society. This is not a new phenomenon. It is something that girls and women learn at a very young age. This work is a comment on the continued 'policing' of women through the irrelevant criticism that they are subjected to whose subtext is to render them voiceless. This work is designed to foster discussion that re-evaluates the trivial discourse that is, for the most part, extended by men in the discussion of women to retain the status quo. Reinforcing the idea that a woman is only valuable when she is "submissive, nurturing, and easy going", is an outdated belief that belongs in the past. This work is a continuation of a series of wearable artworks that examine the 'dress' as representative of the feminine. Clothing is worn for many reasons. Properties of protection, adornment and self-expression are utilised as a means to communicate subversive messages while simultaneously being decorative. We need to stop telling women to smile. And if it upsets us when they don't smile, then perhaps now would be the perfect time to ask ourselves why. 2022 fisher's ghost art award, campbelltown art centre, campbelltown NSW |