Astride two worlds
'Astride two worlds' is a collection of works by Yorkshire-based artist, Anne Thalheim. Using subtle craft techniques, such as basketwork and needlework, and mass-produced industrial materials (including cable ties, mesh, and rollers), Anne's work engages in striking ways with the confinements and freedoms of fashion, dress and the body (among many other themes). From the juxtaposition of form and content emerge expressions of the volatile relationship between desire and constraint, attraction and repulsion, delicacy and danger; her bonnets, corsets, breastplates, crinolines and reticules are works of powerful contradiction. Here, Anne turns her attention to the theme of trousers and dress reform. Using some of the very items traditionally associated with women, femininity and domestic work (such as scourers and tights), she explores the relationship between sartorial and social limitations in a variety of media (from Medieval pastiche to video installation).
Madonna and Child
First of all I was interested in portraying a Madonna wearing trousers holding her child in a very relaxed manner as if she was taking a break from posing for the painter. It is a pastiche of a medieval Madonna and child.
En-Armoured
Reading an editorial in the New York Times of May 27th 1876, discussed in Becky’s work, it became clear that the dress reform movement was a battle. With items found in a hardware store, I assembled a mock chain mail corset and a reduced size crinoline and pair of tights to illustrate this idea. It seems that no matter how logical the argument is to convince women that some items of clothing are harmful to their health there will always be corsets and high heeled shoes.
Tara
I wanted to convey that women dressed in corsets and heavy petticoats of crinoline must have had a difficult time performing their daily tasks because they made them hyperventilate and tire easily. How could they run after a little child? Would a builder wear such garments? What would they be made of? I used a builder's back support which looks like a corset and a rubble bag for a crinoline. The allusion to Tara is to bring to mind the epoch of Scarlet O' Hara and the renovation of the mansion.
Quarantine
The New York Times article implied also that dress reform was comparable to a contagious madness hitting assertive women. 'Quarantine' is a padded cell ready for 'treatment'. Medusa in her lair stops men in their tracks and turns them to stone with pantyhose on her head. It is a tongue-in-cheek little film.
Frou-Frou
Lastly, I remembered a song my Grandfather sang, called Frou-Frou. I looked it up and found out it was totally appropriate for Becky's project. The lyrics have been loosely translated.
Anne Thalheim, 2015
Madonna and Child
First of all I was interested in portraying a Madonna wearing trousers holding her child in a very relaxed manner as if she was taking a break from posing for the painter. It is a pastiche of a medieval Madonna and child.
En-Armoured
Reading an editorial in the New York Times of May 27th 1876, discussed in Becky’s work, it became clear that the dress reform movement was a battle. With items found in a hardware store, I assembled a mock chain mail corset and a reduced size crinoline and pair of tights to illustrate this idea. It seems that no matter how logical the argument is to convince women that some items of clothing are harmful to their health there will always be corsets and high heeled shoes.
Tara
I wanted to convey that women dressed in corsets and heavy petticoats of crinoline must have had a difficult time performing their daily tasks because they made them hyperventilate and tire easily. How could they run after a little child? Would a builder wear such garments? What would they be made of? I used a builder's back support which looks like a corset and a rubble bag for a crinoline. The allusion to Tara is to bring to mind the epoch of Scarlet O' Hara and the renovation of the mansion.
Quarantine
The New York Times article implied also that dress reform was comparable to a contagious madness hitting assertive women. 'Quarantine' is a padded cell ready for 'treatment'. Medusa in her lair stops men in their tracks and turns them to stone with pantyhose on her head. It is a tongue-in-cheek little film.
Frou-Frou
Lastly, I remembered a song my Grandfather sang, called Frou-Frou. I looked it up and found out it was totally appropriate for Becky's project. The lyrics have been loosely translated.
Anne Thalheim, 2015