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Description
This whole project began during my first year of art school. My idea was to make a garment out of filmstrips, preferable something one might wear to a photo-worthy occasion, to play on the idea of the public gaze, how it effects the person who is the object of the gaze, and how this applies in particular to girls and women. The transparencey of the material, to me, suggested vulnerability, the feeling of being stripped naked by other people's scrutiny and critisism. The sharpness and inflexibility of film made me think of the expectations implied in the gaze, the way one feels obligated to pose one's self to fit these expectations. The dress, in effect, is the general public gaze - uncomfortable and inflexible, allowing the person who may be the object of the gaze very little privacy.
Though I didn't quite pull it off on the first try, my second try was a lot more fun, especially once I'd procurred a dress form . My heartfelt thanks to , Betty, John, and Rebecca !! This would not have been possible without your generous donations and support .......

Additional: The far left pic is of , who modelled the dress for me at the NSCAD Wearable Art Show ! Thanks again! Oh, and the picture was taken by a very talented peer of mine at NSCAD, Crystal Cox. I hope she doesn't mind my using her name, but I can't just not give credit. Here's a link to the wearable art show site, for the curious: [link]

Materials: Camera film (colour + black&white), black zipper, and mettallic gold-coloured elastic.

Description
This whole project began during my first year of art school. My idea was to make a garment out of filmstrips, preferable something one might wear to a photo-worthy occasion, to play on the idea of the public gaze, how it effects the person who is the object of the gaze, and how this applies in particular to girls and women. The transparencey of the material, to me, suggested vulnerability, the feeling of being stripped naked by other people's scrutiny and critisism. The sharpness and inflexibility of film made me think of the expectations implied in the gaze, the way one feels obligated to pose one's self to fit these expectations. The dress, in effect, is the general public gaze - uncomfortable and inflexible, allowing the person who may be the object of the gaze very little privacy.
Though I didn't quite pull it off on the first try, my second try was a lot more fun, especially once I'd procurred a dress form . My heartfelt thanks to , Betty, John, and Rebecca !! This would not have been possible without your generous donations and support .......

Additional: The far left pic is of , who modelled the dress for me at the NSCAD Wearable Art Show ! Thanks again! Oh, and the picture was taken by a very talented peer of mine at NSCAD, Crystal Cox. I hope she doesn't mind my using her name, but I can't just not give credit. Here's a link to the wearable art show site, for the curious: [link]

Materials: Camera film (colour + black&white), black zipper, and mettallic gold-coloured elastic.