TENSION
Buttons UP BRAZEN, Nov 4 - 21 2005
Consumerism and the pursuit of fashion, creates a form of tension. This is a continual process, as we all employ pieces of art and design, in the form of clothing and jewellery, to attempt to attract and influence other people. As in the arts, fashion design treads a balance between individual taste and the social consensus. They are both essentially exhibitive in character. Therefore, it shouldn’t be rare to find an art show within a jewellery store. Amongst the unique jewellery designs, Nicola Atkinson.Davidson exhibits “Tension”.
An oversize dress hangs from the wall. The long sleeves and the
opening at the bottom of the dress have been sewn over. A phantom
weight stretches the dress to its full length. It now resembles
a body made of satin; one that bulges in unusual places. It presents
a flesh pink outward appearance, although one can discern its blood
red backing, as if the feminine skin had been ripped away. It is
like a doll with neither head nor hands, trapped within an ostentatious
costume. Numerous badges are sedimented at the bottom of the dress,
like barnacles on the hull of a boat raised out of the water. The
‘barnacles’ suggest the shape of corsets, bustiers and
lipstick kisses. The badges contain small protests. “Rebelliously
beautiful” the artist has said: “it becomes something
that can be possessed, but not worn”.
The DVD, “Red shoes”, displays a subjective shot of
a pair of red shoes walking on the ground, across cobblestones and
tarmac. Soon, the walk becomes directionless. The activity makes
the ground blur, but the focus remains upon the red shoes, as if
they are the only thing that matters. Like other pieces in this
show, the tension of the textures becomes the protagonist, flirting
with the heavy, static tension of the dress - “one has to
have a dress and a pair of (red) shoes”.
A satin blue cushion has been “embroidered” with a spiral
of rainbow badges. Following the route, amongst the different shades
and tones, one can read “black”, “white”,
“black’, “white”, “black”…
The spectator is constantly challenged to follow this game of appearances,
to discover the dynamic of choice. Diptych explosions of pinks and
blues are offered up, as rosettes and studies for the buttons. The
idea of creating multiples of them, questions the concept of originality
for the potential (art or fashion) consumers.
By exhibiting at Brazen, Nicola is attempting to re-examine jewellery
and fashion and their relationship with the individual and the public.
She wants to re-define the boundaries between exclusivity and mass
production; between fine fashion and fine arts and, ultimately,
between aesthetics and life.
Nicola Atkinson Davidson and Yuneikys Villalonga
Opening Hours 10:00 - 5:30 Tues- Sat and Thurs until 7pm
Brazen Studios 58 Albion Street, Merchant City, Glasgow, Scotland, and will spread to various, as yet undetermined locations in the days that follow.
