This piece of work is titled Cocoon by artist Rebecca Horn, in this image Horn shows two stages of the morphing of the human body or the extent of it, one phase shows the body enclosed in a cocoon, securely protected from the outside world, then it brakes free into the outside world,as the cocoon unfolds it transforms into butterfly wings.
This image could relate to having a sacred space , the first phase makes me also think of a tall hat disguising the body ,then it transforms into a ghost like angel freeing the disguise, thinking along the lines of my project!!!
‘Pope Joan’ – Medieval muslin undergarment, rice paper circlet breast pads – Julie Dodds.
“The rice paper obviously alludes to the flesh of Christ in Catholic tradition and the breast pads reference the myth that she had a child. The cotton red crosses signify stigmata and the pain of her situation as an oppressed woman, mother and religious icon.”
With our degree show looming, it is exciting and overwhelming. I guess like all of us I want to get it right, at this moment in time I seem to be continually consumed by my project, which is good but I really need to narrow it down and just run with it.
I have been making, printing and researching and whilst doing this I have been looking at medieval undergarments and trying to imagine what the character that I am studying would have worn to disguise her gender, and also taking on board her religious status of a disguised pope.
Oh dear starting to get a little concerned, last week we had a visit from some masters students from the RSA, in the morning they gave a very interesting insight to what it is like to be a MA student there, and also chatted about their own work, then in the afternoon they gave tutorials to those who wanted them. It is always interesting getting another point of view about your own practice, but it did get me thinking about my project in a different way, to start with I had a slight panic thinking about how am I going to get my final project right, I guess like everyone else is to plod on, keep experimenting and hope for the best!!!
I was thinking about saints and goddesses, and came across an article on living goddesses “The Kumari”meaning virgin or unmarried girl) she is dressed in the finery of the goddess. She may leave her residence- the kumari Chen- only to attend festivals a dozen times a year, when her feet must not touch the ground: she is carried around by attendants and transported in a palanquin. When she shows signs of reaching puberty and before she begins showing any signs of menstruation, her role as goddess is deemed complete. She is returned to her family and another child is chosen to take her place.
