Makeup and Needlework

 

This is my latest drag inspired embroidery created over lockdown before Christmas. While I was stitching it I was thinking about the many things I'd learnt from my residency at Manchester Jewish Museum aaaallll those months ago (pre-pandemic, remember that?) when I went to research needlework produced by women as acts of devotion to their faith and family and how their identity was manifested through stitching.

 
In this latest work I've purposely used rich textiles and colours to evoke the sacred language found in devotional pieces and used in worship because, for me, the act of embroidery has been somewhat devotional, giving me mindful space to breathe as I create, especially during recent turbulent times.

 

But that isn't the only time I've found moments of contentment and peace. Over the past months, my morning routine of sitting in front of my dressing table, pouring out my make up bag and gazing into the mirror as I apply colours and shapes has also been a balm. On those days when I cried because it all seemed too surreal or when anxiety got the better of me and I felt angry and powerless, that simple moment of focus and creativity gave me calmness and strength. 

 

 

This is something I thought about a lot as I stitched the false lashes and lipstick into my drag embroidery, and it became clearer to me that there are many correlations to be drawn from both make up and needlework. I think the following passage from Rozsika Parker's brilliant book, The Subversive Stitch explains it perfectly. Here she concentrates solely on embroidery but her words can be applied to cosmetics too:

'That embroiderers do transform materials to produce sense - whole ranges of meanings - is invariably entirely overlooked. Instead embroidery and a stereotype of femininity have become collapsed into one another, characterised as mindless, decorative and delicate; like the icing on the cake, good to look at, adding taste and status, but devoid of significant content'

  

There are many comparisons that can be drawn between cosmetics and needlework, the most deep rooted being the paradox each holds in relation to women; a mixture of freedom to express ones self and find power through creativity, and a general presumption that taking part in these these activities at all confirms the participant is a feminine stereotype.

 

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I've got to be truthful, I have found it extremely difficult to concentrate on any personal work since the first lockdown last year and this has impacted on my prior direction of work and ideas. Instead, I have stayed busy by taking on private commissions and these have been an amazing opportunity to stay creative and keep my head above water both mentally and financially.

As we enter a third lockdown in a brand new year I feel more drawn to my personal work and I hope to begin to re-explore previous ideas and start new pieces picking up where I left off with the 'Sacred Heart' embroidery pictured above. I can't promise any definite outcomes and I feel any pressure on myself will be detrimental, however, for the fun and joy and sheer pull towards the things that excite me I hope to continue. I will post as and when it feels right. As for all the other things like commissions (which I am still taking) and outside projects, you can see updates about them on my Instagram, so please head on over and take a look.

 Until next time, despite the current situation, I hope that this year brings purpose and gratitude, health and creativity.

Glamour: The Real Fake

In my last post I explained my fascination for people who use glamour to assert their identity. People who curate a specific image on the outside to express who they are on the inside.

To some extent we all construct an image every day and we all wear the way we are perceived by the rest of the world. Every outfit and the way we style them are the psychical manifestations of our current situation and mindset. Whether we think about it much or not, our outward appearance is more than just clothes and make up. As RuPaul  says, 'we are all born naked, and the rest is drag'.

Yet, there are some people who are able to tap into their genuine selves and tell us the story of who they are through their cosmetic surface with extra flair and fantasy.

For this post I thought I'd go a bit further in pinning down what this magical quality of glamour is and show how it's not just a case of frippery or charade which makes it so easy to dismiss as trivial (although there's nothing wrong with a bit of these too). Glamour is constructed, but it can project a very powerful form of expression, freedom and creativity. It can be the real fake.

Talking to Dolly Parton for an interview on Australia's '60 Minutes', the presenter said,'You were once described as being part sincere, part synthetic', to which she replied, 'Well, I think that's probably true. I think part of what magic I may have as far as my personality, is the fact I look totally fake, and I like to think I'm totally real'.

There are many examples of other individuals who fit this idea. People who have devoted their time and energy to creating a little bit of magic every time they dress. These men and women have used glamour to satisfy their need to project the inside out and in most cases their personal branding has lead in some part to their success and a sense of self...

True style is unique to the person and to copy someone's glamour is to never really capture them, all you will ever get is a caricature. How many Marilyn Monroe wannabe's have you seen sporting the same blonde hair and white dress yet never coming close to the real thing? Glamour in it's truest sense comes from within, and of course, it's not just the rich and famous who follow this rule, I often see remarkable people out and about who trigger my admiration and fascination.

In the most recent edition of The Chap magazine, there is a snappy little article about Marilyn Monroe and the image she built and maintained with thorough dedication. The Chap calls this her 'dandyism', which I think is a brilliant way of labeling this use of glamour. 

Catherine Spooner, the author of Fasioning Gothic Bodies states, 'Dandyism is not merely surface, but rather the managing of surface'. This is certainly something that can be attributed to Marilyn, who worked hard to maintain her outward image at all times and literally became the 'wonderful', her private self aspired to be.

There was no set of rules to being Marilyn Monroe, she just tapped into something inside of herself and projected it out, it was clothing and hair, make up and talent, her own special brand of glamour. Marilyn was one of those people who naturally tuned into their inner self and turned the dial all the way up to 11. 

Baudelaire once said, 'The dandy should aspire to be uninterruptedly sublime. He should live and sleep in front of a mirror'. I don't think this means dandy's are vain or self absorbed, more that they see themselves as an ongoing creative project. Even if they don't have an audience they are still able to enjoy the image they have constructed for the sake of itself... and why not?

This has been my second post for the new project (as yet untitled) where I am looking at ideas of gender and identity through the lens of 'Feminine Pursuits', specifically at needlework and cosmetics. This began when I started creating embroideries of inspiring individuals who use glamour to express their identities.  Please take a look at my last post for more background and a fuller explanation of the work so far.

 The art of make up and styling is truly a powerful tool that can create a work of art, empower an individual and leave an indelible impression on the cultural landscape. For this reason I am a devotee of cosmetics and styling. I see them as wonderful tools to be used for our sense of well being, as little or much as you need. As we've seen, they are not exclusively just for women, though why they are associated mostly to the feminine is something I hope to find out. The art of glamour, is a true art form yet rarely recongnised as such. I hope in the work to come I can help to question and change that.

Join me next time to find out more...

An act of worship...

 I never thought I'd be writing a post that puts Dolly Parton in the same bracket as Elizabeth 1st, yet here I am. Bear with me...

A few weeks ago I began a new embroidery portrait of Dolly as I'd wanted to create a 'sister piece' to the Joan Collins one I did a year or so ago.

Why these two?

I am drawn to people who use glamour as a way to express an identity yet stay completely true to themselves. People who know who they are, stay grounded, yet project a sense of genuine fantasy. I don't mean your average face of make up, they seem to be fulfilling something real but extra about themselves. These people are ambassadors of success through the created image. It's a very special trait, that to me, makes for a fascinating person and I want to capture some of what I feel through my work.

Each embroidery takes hours, and I mean hours to do. Stitch after stitch, sometimes unpicking whole sections in order to redo them. I fall into a kind of meditative state as I stare intently at Dolly Parton's face, all the while stitching with conviction... because I think she's great.

Then a friend pointed out the simple fact that there's no irony to what I'm doing; my work is in a sense, an act of worship. Suddenly I had an epiphany, like Dolly herself had reached down from the heavens and touched me!

My friend was right, these portraits encompass so much of what is important to me, ideas of identity, artifice and story telling. They speak of personal empowerment, celebration and a type of truth. They are my way of giving something usually thought of as trivial, sometimes even faintly ridiculous (Dolly would be the first to revel in her ridiculousness), a sense of gravity.

It was like a window opened up in my head...

...and that's where Elizabeth 1st comes into it...

A couple of weeks ago I happened across a video about a richly embroidered antique altar cloth which had been framed and hung in a small village church for decades. It was thought to have been dedicated to the church by one of Queen Elizabeth's 1st's servants, however on closer inspection, it turned out to be a dress that had been gifted to the servant by the queen and turned into an altar cloth. It is the only known surviving example of the monarch's clothing.

There is so much to unpack here; Firstly, the idea that the queen was held in such high regard by her people that her very garb was used as part of a religious act and given the highest honour.

During her reign Elizabeth constructed a powerful image for herself playing on the concept of the 'Virgin Queen', a being who blurred the lines of reality and myth to became an icon in her lifetime. She did this not just through her actions and words but through a very clever branding scheme that used cosmetics and clothing to speak the language of superiority and 'otherness'

Using the tools available to her as a woman to stake her claim, Elizabeth invested in the same balance of fantasy and truth that I venerate in Dolly and Joan.

There's also the fact the dress/altar cloth was hand embroidered. Elizabeth's women in waiting and servants would have stitched the fabric as their own acts of worship to the living icon, taking hours in doing so.

Both these acts of artifice and craftsmanship are generally regarded as female pursuits in the wider world and as such are not given the credence they deserve, yet they helped to cement Elizabeth in our minds as one of England's greatest monarchs.

There's a layering of ideas here where the similarities peak in the work I have been doing on my portraits. They speak the same language of glamour and female weighted craft both cosmetic and textile. This is something I really want to look deeper into.

I want to explore the language of worship through hand crafted images looking into how they have been used in the past and the present. I want to know why 'women's pursuits' such as needlework and beautifying have been down graded in importance and if they are now being embraced by a wider culture where gender fluidity is more accepted. With a glut of make up guru's across the gender spectrum ruling Youtube, are attitudes really changing?

I want to take a deep dive into the world of cosmetics and ask how making up helps and hinders the individual while closer examining the power of the artistry that can be created.

Not least of all I want to celebrate those individuals who inspire because of the 'otherness' they project through their flair for fantasy and finesse and try to pin down something of the essence that makes them the icons they are. 

In doing all of this I intend to expand upon the work I've been doing finding new ways to frame it's meaning.

This is a very exciting project to me and I'll be posting about it as I go, so join me next time to see where the glamour takes us...

Alexis embroidery

 Alexis 2017

I finished my embroidery of Joan Collins AKA Alexia Carrington Colby last night! I'm not gonna lie, this piece took me aaaaaages! It turned out to be very detailed and I had many breaks in between days of hard stitching. However, I have to say I love it and I'm pleased with how the Dame turned out!

Here's how I made this piece from start to end...

Firstly I drew out Joan's beautiful face onto canvas and painted in the skin tone and hair. I also put in some colour around the eyes as the base of her fabulous purple smokey eye make up.

Then I began to stitch in the details...

After appliqueing on the red fabric for Joan's dress I soon realised I needed to give her a fresh background as I'd unwittingly tried out my paint colours far too close to her face on the original canvas (see photos above). To fix this I cut out around Joan and ironed her to new canvas using bondaweb.

Then I began stitching into the hair... oh god, the hair! it went on and on...

I felt that some of the drama of the face had been lost as I stitched, so I gave Joan a little touch up and defined and darkened her makeup. Got to make sure those cheek bones are sharp enough to cut!

 

And then she was done. Here's a closer look at the details of her face so you can see some of the different stitches I used for different textures like jewellery, skin and hair. This was a really satisfying piece to work on, although I have definitely learned a few things not to do for next time. I'll be starting a new iconic look in embroidery soon, I haven't quite decided who but in the mean time I'll be thinking of framing options for Alexis/Joan...something fabulous and decadent I think...

2016... wasn't that bad

Last year was pretty grim wasn't it? I mourned with everyone else at the losses of loved icons and ranted over worrying global events, but by December the 31st I felt like I'd had it with all the negativity, I didn't want to look back at 2016 and only think of the crappy stuff!. I'd had enough doom and gloom!

So I thought I'd begin 2017 by listing some of the things I never got around to blogging about but still held an important place creatively for me in 2016. Here's some of my highlights from last year (also you can see more about these and other projects on my Instagram @gemma_parker_artist)

Embroideries:

Embroidery no.2

I mentioned briefly last year that I had begun working on some drag inspired embroideries and this had branched out to making work based on a variety of iconic and transformative make up looks. I am stitching portraits of people who inspire me and have used make up as a powerful tool of expression and creativity in their lives and careers. My most recent piece is of Dame Joan Collins, a lady I greatly admire and who I was lucky enough to see last year in her 'Unscripted' show. I loved her as Alexis in Dynasty which is where she created her most enduring 'look', a bold smokey eye and colourful lip combo that will always be associated with the legend of Joan Collins.

I am really enjoying making these works, they are kitsch and decorative and involve all the things I love. I'm hoping to make enough for an exhibition and I plan on making a piece to mark Kylie Minogue's new album this year and her 30 years in the music industry. I'm not putting any pressure on myself with this work, other than trying to speed up, I'm just enjoying it and loving the process. It's also fun to see where the work takes me in terms of style and use of materials.

Interview with Rachel Maclean for HOME:

This was a real delight for me as, over the summer, I got to chat to multi media and award winning artist Rachel Maclean about one of my favourite subjects, dressing up and artifice. If you haven't seen Rachel's work you're in for a treat, a deceptively sweet treat that coats a darker and unpalatable centre!

Filled with overblown characters, all played by the artist, Rachel's work inhabits make-believe worlds that might seem colourful and camp, but mirror our own world all too closely. Using her ability to play both grotesque and cute, Rachel's work says a lot about gender, politics and society.

It was great to interview Rachel about her love of dressing up and explore the reasons and ideas behind it. As a fellow lover of artifice I found the whole experience really interesting, not to mention the writing and editing the interview involved. The finished article was published in HOME's autumn programme. You can read an online version HERE

Working with Forever Manchester:

Forever Manchester funds and supports community activity across Manchester and I was thrilled to attend their Summer Social event as artist in residence drawing the crowd and making postcard portraits of attendees. My camera on the day was rubbish and didn't pick up any details but at least here you can see a taster of the people who sat for me.

I love doing events like this where there is a real party atmosphere and people are curious to see their image drawn right in front of them. Once I start, I can sit there and sketch for hours not realising how much time has past. I hope we can work together again in the future as Forever Manchester and the work they do is an initiative I really admire!

Enchantment Under the Sea Disco and Mermaid:

Having a moment with my mermaid

When someone asks me if I will paint a life size mermaid cut out I say YES! That's what happened here, when HOME threw an Enchantment Under The Sea disco to mark their 80's film series in the run up to Christmas. In honour of their launch film Back To The Future, the arts centre held a huge party inspired by the movie's legendary 1950's dance, complete with sub marine decoration and THE actual Delorian parked outside! (I had a great time posing behind the steering wheel).

 Photo by Chris Payne

The event itself was a huge success and I'm happy to say that my mermaid with her 'I heart Marty' tattoo was also very popular on the night! This was a really fun project to do, from design to actual painting, I really enjoyed the challenge of working so big and painting one of my favourite creatures!

(incidentally my mermaid's look was inspired by the gorgeous Ann Blythe and her role in 1940's classic Mr Peabody and the Mermaid, check it out it's an enchanting little film).

Costume Modelling:

One of the things I like to do is modelling in costume for art events and drawing classes. Having a model who enjoys dressing up, and posing in character makes an unusual and interesting change from still life and nudes. It gives the participants a chance to draw or photo a complete persona and try to capture their energy. Last year I was lucky enough to work with Tameside's Creative Arts and Minds CIC to pose for a photography group who had never had a model before. It was a really rewarding experience to see their initial wariness and nerves give way to some truly creative picture taking! I also worked with Bury Art Collective on a drawing class, Maid in Bury, which was such a fun night. I'll be modelling in Bury again this year for Bury art Society and I look forward to seeing what art gets produced this time round!

This year....

I'll try to blog more often, I do miss it, but I never seemed to get around to doing it much. This year I'll blog more. I have a few ideas for other things I'd like to achieve including a new set of greeting cards designs and I really want to get my embroidery work in a magazine! I began a new project last year based on updating old work but I lost all my enthusiasm for it. I still don't know where this will go but I hope I can resurrect this project maybe tweaking it slightly, so lets see where this goes. I also want to work faster. I like to take my time to create the best work I can but this can limit my output. 2017 is already nearing the end of January! I am getting my skates on as I type!

Joan Collins Unscripted

  

I went to see the wonderful Dame Joan Collins in her one woman (and one man) show at The Lowry this week. I can happily say I have now seen two of my holy trinity of legendary female icons, that being, Dolly Parton, Joan Collins and Joanna Lumley (only Lumley to go).

Joan Collins has fascinated me for years; as a little girl I was caught off guard by her bitchy sexy character Alexis in Dynasty. If she came on TV I'd find myself drawn to the screen to just look at her. The combination of glossy lipstick, huge earrings and high hair mixed with that cut glass English accent certainly left an imprint in my mind. 

As I got older it was Joan's approach to life that next caught my attention. I admire the way she looks no matter what the occasion. Joan Collins is glamour! Not once do we ever see JC slumming it in joggers and a slouchy top, never without her hair done, and NEVER without her makeup. One interviewer once made the faux pas of asking if she ever forgoes the glamour at the weekend and Joan practically winced, 'NO. I wouldn't want that for myself or for anyone else'. Her standards are high just like her self esteem.

 

The live show began with Joan clad in a black lacy trouser suit sitting alongside her husband Percy in a simple set that put me in mind of Claridges. Percy MC'd while Joan answered the never halting flow of questions from the audience, 'What was Hollywood like in the 50's?' (Exciting, she went to lots of showbiz parties and her first film there was opposite the legendary Bette Davis), Did you ever meet Marilyn Monroe? (Yes, and it was while chatting that Marilyn gave her the advice to watch out for the Hollywood studio bosses who could drop her at the click of a finger if she didn't make them happy. Joan managed to dodge the casting couch), What was it like working on Dynasty? (Wonderful but hard work, she had to keep her weight below eight and a half stone to fit into the costumes as the camera adds ten pounds). 

By the second half Joan had changed into a champagne gold sequin gown and looked every inch the star she is. The evening was full of delicious tidbits about Joan's lifestyle, friends and packed career interspersed with wonderful film clips and photos. When an audience member asked if there was any rivalry between Joan and her late sister Jackie while growing up, it was asked with such reverence you could feel the theatre give a little collective nod of respect to the author. Joan answered that of course they were competitive but ultimately they were crazy about each other and she misses her sister everyday. 

 I loved hearing about my favourite period of Hollwood history from someone who had lived through it. Paul Newman, Gene Kelly, Joan Crawford... there were so many names dropped I couldn't keep up! Then of course when Joan chatted about her beauty regime, make up and style rules I was all ears. There was even a little window into Joan and Percy's wedding night that involved gaffer tape and a lot of yelling. I wont go into details in case you see the show yourself but it was highly entertaining. The whole evening was a relaxed and fun insight into the life of a much loved living legend and was a wonderful treat I'll never forget!

Drag face!

 

I've been really LOVING make up tutorials on the web for some time now. If there's buffing lining or blending going on, I'm all over it! Drag tutorials are no exception and it was with glee that I first clicked on Lucy Garland a make up whizz who just adores all things Qween!

I've been wanting to create some art work that includes my love of cosmetics for some time but couldn't figure out how to do this without the work becoming a bit one dimensional. That changed after I watched a few drag tutorials. I decided to put thread to canvas and get stitching!

This was a really enjoyable process; I decided to combine painting, applique and embroidery to make something that had multi layers and a real pop! I'm so happy with the outcome. Here's how it evolved:

I've starting my second drag embroidery already, I like to work on them during my down time or in between other projects. They are so fun to do and very satisfying and calming. All the while I'm stitching I'm immersed in glamour and make up, I love it!

The one and many Marilyn Monroe

Like many people I get lost down the rabbit hole when I start watching youtube. One video leads to another and before I know it my original search for Vivien Leigh means I'm now watching an urban explorer traipse round a deserted plantation mansion in Georgia. However my most recent mini obsession stems from my unwavering love of Marilyn Monroe.

While searching for Marilyn videos I happened across a lady called Sunny Thompson. Now I may be a little late to the party but I was entranced by Sunny's portrayal of Marilyn in her one woman show, Marilyn Forever Blonde, a production which has been running up and down America since 2007.

Sunny has the mannerisms and voice down to a tee as she tells Marilyn's story through the lady's own words. This play looks amazing and I'd love to see it, but unfortunately Sunny has said in interviews that she's been playing Marilyn for 8 years now and Marilyn only played Marilyn for 15, Sunny doesn't think she can do it for that long.

The thing that intrigues me most about Marilyn Forever Blonde is how make up transforms Sunny into a such a convincing version of the icon. The application is so specific! In another interview Sunny mentions the make up design was put together by Marilyn impersonator Jimmy James... Cue a search for his work, and boy is he brilliant!

Jimmy James spent over 10 years impersonating Marilyn and in order to get the look just right he spent 2 years just studying her make up! You have to admit he got it right as the result is mesmerizing.

I watched a lot of his videos and its worth catching his appearance on Geraldo where the host seems to forget Jimmy is actually a boy and gets a bit flirty with 'Marilyn'. Also Jimmy's turn on To Tell The Truth, not only another fantastic impersonation but a fun snapshot of 1980's entertainment.

Jimmy James also appears briefly on a great documentary called Marilyn Monroe - Life After Death which has a refreshing take on the Monroe legend. Filmed in the 80's it interviewed a large group of people who knew and worked with Marilyn, whilst also giving an insight into the impact of her death in 1962.

Alan 'Whitey' Snyder was Monroe's make up artist through most of her career and his interview is the most interesting as he discusses how Marilyn asked him in a jokey way to make her up if she passed away before he did, a promise he honoured when she did die at the early age of 36. The description of how he did this and how the mortuary helped to get her looking right is both fascinating and uncomfortable.

 To round off, Lisa Eldridge is one of my favourite youtube make up artists and her video about Marilyn's iconic make up look is probably to closest we'll get to knowing a least part of the secret tricks and techniques Marilyn used to create the face she showed to the world. Don't be fooled, its not just black eyeliner and red lipstick, in fact the truth is much more interesting and intricate.

Marilyn knew exactly what she was doing when she put on her face. Her make up was a finely tuned kind of magic that helped her to become something bigger and apart from herself. It helped to define her legend and has obviously left an indelible imprint on popular culture that future generations  are still trying to emulate and decipher.

We're Born Naked The Rest Is Drag

Last week I went along to one of The Beauty Project events at Selfridges in Manchester; 'We're Born Naked, The Rest is Drag: Identity, Fantasy and Beauty beyond Gender'

Upon reading this title I would have bought myself a ticket and gone along anyway! However the added draw was that Grace Oni Smith, the subject of my current portrait exploring transgender femininity, was one of the guest speakers on a panel consisting of drag queen Cheddar Gawjus (AKA Dr Micheal Atkins) and Dr Sally Hines Associate Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at The University of Leeds.

It was a brilliant talk and gave me me lots think about. Grace spoke from the heart and gave us an insight into her life as a trans gender female. How her discovery of make up was a tool she used not only to transform her appearance but also transform her life.

     
Taking inspiration from strong androgynous role models like Siouxsie Sioux David Bowie Grace Jones and Boy George, a teenage Grace began to experiment with her looks and built a goth persona who wore her make up like armour. Still living as a male in a small rural town, this act of deliberate defiance to the norm brought her much attention, most of it negative resulting in being beaten up for being different.

As the panel explained, gender is something we perceive through learnt roles and behaviour. We copy it from others as we develop and there are certain acceptable characteristics we associate with men and women. However as in Grace's case, these ideals are malleable, they can be played with, broken down and rebuilt into new and sometimes confusing formats that challenge society and make people uncomfortable.

Take for instance this years queen of Eurovision, Conchita Wurst. An undeniably beautiful drag artist who just happens to wear a beard along with her lipstick and wigs. Many people's reaction was one of bewilderment, even disgust; It was too provoking to flaunt both genders at once.

Cheddar Gawgus pointed out that while Conchita was challenging for many people, the fact they were introduced to a new concept of what gender can be was a positive step.

For Grace, her gender is no longer the same issue it once was. As she rather fabulously put it, she is 'a new person'. But it hasn't been easy to get to this positive stage in her life. As an individual of transgender she still scrutinizes her looks on a daily basis and it isn't easy to escape that very marginalised view of what acceptable beauty is in western society.

Cheddar illustrated this perfectly by showing us results of Google searches for 'Beautiful women' and 'Beautiful men'. Both searches showed white young symmetrical flawless faces and slim lithe bodies.This is not a representation of most of the worlds population. Yet so many people strive to attain it or as close to it as possible.

  Grace, Cheddar and Dr Hines all suggested drag was one of the most powerful ways of subverting our narrow view of beauty and gender and I found this the most interesting aspect of the discussion.

Despite drag making somewhat of a comeback in mainstream society thanks to shows like RuPaul's Drag Race, the idea of what drag can be is still to be fully explored. Traditionally viewed as a man dressing up like a woman to become an extreme character, it was argued drag can actually be a platform for anyone of any gender to play with roles and looks. Women men and people of transgender can all be drag queens or kings. However, sometimes drag doesn't even fit into these roles, as in the case of artists Leigh Bowery and Cindy Sherman. Their use of drag is both surreal and without limits.

It is this total freedom to play with the carefully constructed boundaries we put in place as we grow, and the unobtainable ideals which we try to achieve in everyday life which makes drag an awesome device to navigate your personal identity.

It really made me think. As the title to the show suggested ('We're born naked, the rest is drag' a wonderful quote by Ru Paul), we all indulge in drag to some degree to create our outward persona. From applying a dash of mascara to choosing which shoes to wear we are constructing the story we choose to tell each day. Drag, in it's fullest sense is just an extreme form of this. If you chose to ignore the learned patterns that keep our identities in check and felt free to wear anything and act in any way, how would you choose to leave the house this morning? 

I'm so glad I went to this event, I enjoyed every minute and I'm sure I'll be applying these ideas to future art work, and maybe next time I sit down at the dressing table too!

 

Gemma***