https://www.tumblr.com/blog/yllomt (Link to old reflective journal)
At the end of last year I was looking into character making though the use of costume and actions. Whilst this is still something that interests me, for the first couple of weeks of this year I am going to focus on making a costume for a certain event.
I have been fortunate enough to be invited to an annual Halloween event that is curated more like a festival than any other event. A specific storyline is released and an entire stage/site is constructed and in a sense it creates a community that whilst exclusive, still allows people to come together for a common purpose and creates a space where they can dress up. Working on a costume for this event links in with plans that I have for my research report, as I am exploring what it is about festivals that inspire people to dress in costume and also dress differently that they would in everyday life. Part of this reason is that I believe festivals create a community and a 'safe space' to be free to be whoever you want to be. Whilst there is no need to dress up for this event I don't want to miss the opportunity to create a costume for a specific event, as this is a potential route for me after graduation, and creating it for myself is in some ways easier than designing it for someone else.
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| https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/06/27/nikola-tesla-fbi/ |
This year for the event the theme is Nikola Tesla and the storyline that has been released is shrouded in the conspiracies surrounding his death and revolves around his supposed experiments with time travel. Along with the storyline the organisers give you a general theme so people can dress accordingly:
Fancy dress theme - Steam Punk - Present - Cyber Goth
Think Wild Wild West (Steam Punk Past) Meets Crazy physicist's (Present) Meets Fifth Element (Cyber Goth Future)
As part of my initial research will be looking at Tesla and his experiments and seeing if there is anyway I can translate his inventions into costume. I will also look at Steampunk and cyber goth fashion to see if there are any fundamental aspects that I can use within my costume. Re-watching the Fifth Element could also be handy.
My initial thoughts for the costume concern practicality - warmth, going to the toilet and what I can actually achieve in the 3 and a half week time frame I have. As Tesla was all about electricity, some sort of lights within the costume would be exciting. I also want to continue to use textiles as much as possible.
As a way of reappraising and challenging my current studio practice this year I also plan to work collaboratively with fellow student Jodie Smith in creating a piece of work that we can show at festivals in the summer. Jodie went to Equinox festival at the end of the summer and saw a piece by artist Laura Mathews - a tiny bird puppet that she was 'flying' round the festival site. Having an almost life like animal experience was intimate and curious as the puppet almost had a life of its own. As humans our engagement with animals not in captivity or as pets is next to none, we both love the idea of bringing this wild animal experience to festival goers.
