For those of you keeping score, you will be aware of the fact that this is a dress based off of a photograph from the late 1800s, that depicts a woman with a long 'mane' like stream of hair, flowing from her back. I fell in love with the photograph, and my mind reeled. I was inspired, and my adoration and admiration for 19th century sideshow, 'freaks' and 'geeks' finally took an artistic form.
I'm kind of going off of the idea of the celebrity of the deformed and people with abnormalities during the 19th century. They were so loved, and adored, and in my eyes, they are some of the most exquisite beings. I revel at how they were born a certain way, and they accepted it. There was no attempt to alter it or remove it. Not like today. Their stories were often tragic, in how they would be sold or hurt... but in the eyes of onlookers, they were marvels. They were beautiful oddities, and beautiful human beings. How times have changed...
This piece is the first of a series. I kind of see these things I'm making as a kind of artefacts. Small momentos and remnants of a person. Ill-fitting clothes that look awkward and strange, but fit that person. It's like of like creating portraits. Portraits of those who were born a certain way, and embraced it. Portraits of those who chose to perform or make their bodies a certain way, rejecting the norm and choosing a life with others who match their souls. All of the stories I'm going to portray with either be of unknown figures, or of fictional beings who may have existed.
I have so many ideas and I'm so excited for these pieces. I've never been so overwhelmed by such a massive bout of inspiration. For a short while, my creativity felt like it was lacking. It felt like I was poor at art, and that I was wasting my time trying to make a full time career out of it. I now feel like I was wrong in that thought. I just needed a little help from one beautiful woman from decades ago.
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