adjustments

When dressing up the Greek statues i realised that whilst using rIbbon to tie onto different places to the body meant that i could have stronger colour in different areas it also didn't stay put very well at all. Looking back at all my drawings they all seem to incorporate one oversized poncho-type aspect. I then had the idea to thread the strips of tulle through a netting of some kind! The netting i chose was garden netting - i think the stuff that goes over ponds to stop birds eating the fish?? I cut a head hole in the top so that the netting covers the body from the neck down to become this all encompassing tutu poncho. It is important for me to have the body covered because I think this helps to create a more alien character as you cant see the person underneath. 

In order to thread the tulle through the netting it was easier to hang it on the wall. I had taken my shoes off and left them against the wall and when I walked back into the room I realised that it looked as though there was a person in the room. Having it on the wall like this is obviously different to the intention I had for the piece but it still works. Whilst there isn't a person inside the piece there is still an impression of a person and therefore an expectation that it could be worn. All of this is suggested just by having a pair of shoes underneath the piece. I also hung the piece across the gap between studio spaces so that the people behind the wall have to pass through the piece in order to get to their studio space. The piece then becomes interactive in another way. Does it become a hindrance to others or is it just a playful way to walk through a space? When its worn I want both the wearer and the viewer to feel a sense of play which I think I achieve through the colour and exaggerated size of the piece. I think this sense of playfulness is also achieved when it is hung in between the studio spaces. 

The tulle has even more of its own movement when it is on this net because there is a lot more freedom of movement, as the wearer is not worried about whether or not the ribbon will come undone. Because of the large poncho shape and the colour the piece becomes like wings which helps to create this playful and alien feel.

Dressing up the statues around uni is still a great way to see how my work looks in different poses however I am beginning to realise that whilst these are humorous they are also static and my work revolves around movement. It is the movement in the costumes that activates them and makes them exciting. Even though I enjoy it when the piece is hung up on a wall, there is no movement and the full affect of the piece cannot be seen. 

I wore the piece out to go get a coffee from St.Georges to St. Andrews - in total about a 10 minute trip. All I did was put it over my clothes so there was no thought into what was underneath the piece. I have always toyed with the idea of wearing my costumes in an everyday environment, and trying to do simple tasks in a piece that perhaps inhibits the senses or movement, but this was actually the first time I have done it. I got a lot of curious looks, a lot of giggling and smiles, but noone came up to me to ask me what it was about. I guess that is the British way - way to polite to ask. Not even the guy I bought my coffee off asked me though! Walking through town in this piece clearly wasn't weird enough to provoke a big reaction of any kind and this is something I want to change. I think maybe I looked too normal still as I didn't have my head covered. I definitely felt as though it was normal for me to be wearing it - as I guess it's just an extension of my personality.  I don't know yet if feeling normal in my pieces is something I want to keep or not. In my dissertation I am exploring what is is about festivals that make people feel they can dress differently than in their everyday life. I am exploring this because I think I dress pretty much the same. So if I am thinking about my work in the context of festivals, and I wear the piece in the every day, I should feel normal in it even if other people think its not normal to be wearing it? I guess I want to provoke a reaction from people and spark their curiosity, and for this to happen I don't think it matters whether or not I feel normal in my pieces or not. If my work is shown at festivals then there is an expectation from the audience that everything they see there will in some way be playful or otherworldly. I think this is the reason I feel the need to cover the face in my work, as then there is a barrier between audience and wearer. It is this detachment that helps to create something alien that will peak peoples curiosity when they see it, both in everyday life and at a festival.

^^^^ Covering the face already looks more alien! How can I cover the face? Masks maybe?