Phantom bodies
A garment in an exhibition, detached from its flesh counterpart, can have an alienating effect. Quivering on a hanger or mannequin it becomes, in the words of fashion theorist Elizabeth Wilson, a “desolate shell”. This series of textile objects explores the phantoms of bodies in exhibited garments.
Made possible through the generous support of CBK Rotterdam.
Ripping a garment from its everyday, embodied existence and placing it in an exhibition transforms its functionality. From something we live with, it becomes an artefact that may only be looked at. When a garment finds itself in this curious predicament, what is left for it to do? Devoid of movement and tactile qualities, under carefully positioned spotlights, it does not get to act as a garment. It becomes an almost purely visual thing.
While the living, breathing body is absent, exhibited garments still echo bodies. There is an abstracted corporeality designed into the clothing itself. How literally does the body need to be present for the object to still be considered a garment? ‘Phantom Bodies’ morphs, flattens, and abstracts these bodily echoes.