I’m doing a 3-month residency at the Textile Museum of Canada (Toronto), finishing at the end of March! Here’s a snap from Day 1 in the Learning Hub, meeting the team :-)
My main project during this residency is to create a series of uniforms with material from the Museum’s ReUse Program, incorporating traditional Chinese motifs from the Museum’s collection. Specifically, I will be making one-piece coveralls. Originally, these were made as durable protective gear for trades and manual labour, and to identify the wearer’s position. Over time, it has been adopted as a form of non-gendered fashion which can anonymise the wearer and flatten the hierarchy.
A uniform can imply authority to control, demand respect and/or take up space. I am interested in how these uniforms can affect perception: from within as the wearer, as well as from a spectator’s perspective. How does it feel to put these suits on? What do others see when these suits are worn?
This project builds on the Crouching Tiger Spacesuit which I made in collaboration with Leesa Hamilton for the Visual Arts Nova Scotia group show last June, shown here with my Free Ride skateboard.
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We acknowledge the support of Arts Nova Scotia
