Sexual Abuse
Animation by Vicky Lee Animation, CSM.
KING SEXUAL ABUSE
Harvey Weinstein arrest, 11th of March 2020
I worked with Cate Sarci, BA Womenswear 1st year. After having seen her extrodinary work for the white show, I got in touch and asked if she would be interested to design a costume for this piece. She said yes and we started planning together. The brainstorm started around the Me too movement. We were both appealed by the iconic hands with the hashtags, photos of it are all over the internet. The hands seemed desperate, a desperate call for help. Furethermore, hands represents touch, and abuse. Hands have long been the center of focus of artists to convey expressions.
Through hands we wanted to portray all women, from all classes, from all ethnicities, from all cultures as victims of abuse. As it is truly the case. At first we wanted to paint one hand in every colour red, blue, yellow but thought that this could be wrongly interpreted, as a mockery of the different ethnicities. So instead they were painted skin colours. I wanted to add jewels to some, nail varnish to others, gloves and cleaning gloves... but then decided against it as the minimalistic and “pure” version was in fact much stronger and powerful.
Through hands we wanted to portray all women, from all classes, from all ethnicities, from all cultures as victims of abuse. As it is truly the case. At first we wanted to paint one hand in every colour red, blue, yellow but thought that this could be wrongly interpreted, as a mockery of the different ethnicities. So instead they were painted skin colours. I wanted to add jewels to some, nail varnish to others, gloves and cleaning gloves... but then decided against it as the minimalistic and “pure” version was in fact much stronger and powerful.
Fabric tubes sewn and cleaning gloves stuck and hanpainted.
Each tube sewn onto a hat base
First brainstorm of ideas, I played withthe ideas of nipples, boobs and buts, to express the idea “my body my choice”! I decided against that, as I believed it was sexualising and minimizing the discourse and the statement we wanted to make. It is not about body parts, it is about human beings in their integrities.
Gemma had less time as she is in a placement year abroad. We worked together on a design for the teapot, a hand sticking out, a firm body. She made the sculpture and then I took over and glazed it, and bisque fired it.
The brown glaze becomes blue after the firing. I lacked skills in glazing so I was a bit worried of the outcome, however it turned out to be successfull. I was scared of the colour smudging into each other, especialy the lines of the swimsuit. I also almost didn’t want to fire it as i liked the pinkish colour before. The studio ihad very limited glazes, so i had to go with the blue.
