Textiles and Natural Dyes

Project #1

Artist Statement

This sculpture was centered around ideas involving the male to female transgender experience. I was inspired by a musician named Laura Jane Grace, who is the lead singer of the punk rock band named Against Me!. She also went through her gender transition publicly in an attempt to help others experiencing the same feelings. As most of my ideas revolve around gender, I spent time thinking of how the medium of fabric and textiles might relate to the concept of gender. Clothing is something that most people choose based on their desires for stylistic choices and self expression, which of course, still holds for people who are trans. However, a very common reality is that trans people also choose their clothing very carefully in order to outwardly express their gender identity, to alleviate their gender dysphoria, and often in order to pass as they wish to be seen in public spaces. I was thinking about how clothing is made to fit bodies through generalizing body types and perpetuating stereotypes without regard for people who fall in between or outside of the "simple" binary conception of gender and the bodies that are supposed to fit in boxes. I chose to comment on the intimacy of the individual body by using pillows, which are supposed to provide respite, as the body and support for the dress that made to exist on. I used a naturally created turmeric dye for the yellow pigment, and after cutting out each piece, I used a sewing machine for the seams and hand-stitched the straps on. As was intended, the garment does not fit quite right on the pillow and looks a bit unnatural. This all ties into commentary on what a trans person might experience as the work through their disconnect with their body or with how the world perceives it.

Research