SECOND
SKIN
What: Wearable Art
BODY PIECE:
Threads of Self was created as an extension of the wearable art seen in Crown of Reflections, exploring how our identity builds our second skin. The body piece presents a layered protective armour of memories, emotions, external influences, and our internal parts. Each element of the piece reflects on personal and shared identity, all uniting to create our own individual second skin as humans.
The chest piece features a collage of monochrome screen-printed faces. A juxtaposition of emotions, happiness and sadness repeated all over, which are stitched together with a bold red. Binding the expressions together in a distorted way to reflect the complexity of human emotions.
Encircling the sleeves and neckline is newspaper woven together, mirroring the head piece and capturing the chaotic flow of information that shapes our external realties. Dangling film negative chains on the sleeves,reflect the memories that we accumulate, that help shape our identities.
The garment’s second half starts with the woven newspaper belt, tying the whole piece together with its repetitive diamond shapes. The cascading skirt of diamond cut x-rays, show body parts symbolising the internal parts that keep us going. Highlighted by a red underlayer, the diamonds
forms shift in the light, each step the model takes creates a layer of depth exposing the body’s internal parts. All these elements remind us of what shapes us and builds our individual layer of protective skin.
HEAD PIECE:
The headpiece ‘Crown of Reflections’ explores the theme second skin, by representing the protective layers formed from memories and external influences. The dark, scaled film negative wig and feather like cut oBs contrasts with the bright, chaotic newspaper crown, encouraging viewers to reflect on how external influences unite to protect us.
At the base is a hidden crocheted skull cap, serving as the foundation for the stitched together, diamond cut film negatives to form the wig. The tall, abstract newspaper crown rests on top, with its jumbled headlines and advertisements symbolising the constant flow and chaotic nature of the information that saturates our lives. The negative cut oBs adding to the symbolism, through the wild experiences of the external factors creating our second skin. The film negative wig, in contrast, captures personal memories that shape who we are. Ultimately protecting and shielding us from external noise.
The combined textured synthetic and organic materials symbolise the personal and public factors that help form a part of our second skin. The start of the built amour that shapes who we are, building and strengthening our identity.
The headpiece ‘Crown of Reflections’ explores the theme second skin, by representing the protective layers formed from memories and external influences. The dark, scaled film negative wig and feather like cut oBs contrasts with the bright, chaotic newspaper crown, encouraging viewers to reflect on how external influences unite to protect us.
At the base is a hidden crocheted skull cap, serving as the foundation for the stitched together, diamond cut film negatives to form the wig. The tall, abstract newspaper crown rests on top, with its jumbled headlines and advertisements symbolising the constant flow and chaotic nature of the information that saturates our lives. The negative cut oBs adding to the symbolism, through the wild experiences of the external factors creating our second skin. The film negative wig, in contrast, captures personal memories that shape who we are. Ultimately protecting and shielding us from external noise.
The combined textured synthetic and organic materials symbolise the personal and public factors that help form a part of our second skin. The start of the built amour that shapes who we are, building and strengthening our identity.