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Abbey Jean MacDonald |
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Emily Blom, South Hobart
This work is a self-portrait that is dealing with self-image and questioning what beauty is from a female perspective. For many women, including me, clothing and make-up are tools to achieve self-esteem and confidence and are used not just to look more beautiful, but also to feel more beautiful. Clothing is used as a means to project a filtered and manipulated image to others; often used as a means to fit into the expectations of society. I am fascinated with clothing and items that have a universal fashion language, such as velvet, silk and lace, which have feminine and erotic connotations. This is explored in my portrait. I have dressed in a red silk dress that I stumbled across at a junk sale, an item that perhaps once gave its owner a positive self-image. The dress has been used as a ‘prop’ that is loaded with a stereotypical femineity and sexuality, juxtaposing a child-like innocence – representing my feelings that I am still a child, playing dress-ups in an adult world. The red dress has been discarded by its owner, no longer desired or providing a feeling of beauty, sexuality or confidence. The fabric folds and creases; it is torn, fading and moth-eaten. The vibrant red dress ages and deteriorates, just as our own skin does, and as such, highlights our vulnerabilities and the transience of beauty.
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