Bare addresses the notions of vulnerability through materiality.
This collection, wearable sculptures, seem to protect parts of the body; face, chest and shoulders. Gauze references its inherent narrative of healing and protection through the dressing of wounds, but the pieces are anything but protective being fragile and vulnerable themselves. The material undergoes a process of weakening and strengthening. Compressed threads re-construct the weave creating density where the yarns meet, exposing single fibers. The absence of material, the in-between spaces allow for transparency, the passage of light, air and the formation of shadows.
Using non-precious materials, the pieces gain ‘value’ from the work and time applied. Iron wire and wood are woven into the mesh reinforcing the loose structure whilst exposing its fragility. The delicate cotton weave contrasts the strict framework and becomes the structure that secures the strips together. Hollow forms reminiscent of a spine, intersecting lines that of a rib cage, shapes; resting at the core of the body.
These pieces do not protect, rather they draw the viewers’ attention to the need of protection, to the fragility of our physical and emotional being.
The need for repair.
