MASCULIN–FEMININ
Throughout my research, I explored the meanings of curtains and drapery as it is something that I am aesthetically interested in, and I originally thought that my lace piece would appear in more of a curtain style manner. I decided against the draping of curtains and fabric and instead utilised this method of textile manipulation within the metal lace shards.
Subversion within the gentleness of draping and curtains, seen in works by Edith Dekyndt and Christo+Jeanne-Claude, is something that interests me within my ideas of masculine//feminine and labour//mechanisation. The gentle pattern of the lace, handmade in the style of filet lace, hammered and pierced into the metal shards, then draped in a gentle manner, flowing against the wall, creating stark, but beautiful shadows. Curtains have cultural significance with life and death, change, transitions (many have been undergone this year) and closure.
A new series of hand hammered lace metal shards, created using the same doily, which was made using the filet lace technique, in order to create a jigsaw-esque series, when viewed all together, the original doily becomes apparent.
Showing this piece again really reinvigorated my love for the aesthetic and meaningful relationship between lace and metal. I wanted to reintroduce this method of making into my practice again, specifically for the degree show, as it highlights certain skills that I have ascertained over the years, but it also corresponds with my interest in the relationship between the masculine and the feminine, and the acts of labour versus mechanisation.