Strike Appose

In the words of the artist: "The fantasy of modeling is probably the most common dream among young women. This dream dictates a certain behavior from a young age. A girl's early education on the subject of beauty develops sensitivities towards heroines produced by a mass culture intended for older women – the models in women's magazines. Women's magazines peddle illusion, looks pushed to the extreme, glamor, beautification, artificiality, colorfulness, but in fact this is but an outer layer, because the models undergo a long and tedious process of arranging hair, makeup, lighting, accessories and jewelry. If that were not enough, the images are then retouched to correct "flaws," fabricating a picture of perfection. In my collection I wanted to protest against the illusion of perfection, beauty, wealth, glamor and luxury peddled to readers in fashion photography. The patterns are evocative of typical modeling poses seen in fashion shoots and commercials, and bear markings indicating the pose meant to be assumed. I chose to further emphasize this by switching textiles, textures, and / or colors. Both garments are made of raw cloth with wool that I dyed myself. The collars emerged from the profusion of accessories, such as necklaces, bracelets, bags, etc, seen in magazine shoots, and similarly to these, are theatrically displayed. For the wax model, I filled the space between the hand and the body, produced by this motion, and emphasized the motion with fabric stiffened with wax. In the bridal veil, I made markings indicating how the hands are expected to be placed, and the veil is stiffened with nylon wrap, cornstarch and gelatin."