Colonial dress
Date
Creation: 2008
Object Name
sculpture (visual works)
Inventory Number
C.2019.031.001
Physical Description
Life-sized dress in 1880s fashion, crafted from world maps that show the British Empire in pink.
Content Description
Susan Stockwell is an internationally acclaimed artist working across sculpture, installation and film. She explains that her ‘practice is concerned with examining social and colonial histories and engaging with questions of social justice, feminism and materiality’. In this frame, her interest in the politics of feminism and the body has led to a series of dress sculptures, of which the ‘Colonial dress’ is one. This artwork made of maps shaped in the form of a 19th century garment combines the narratives of the British Empire’s colonial past and of the industrial revolution, while addressing gender issues and the marginal history of women.
Keywords
Gender identity Fashion Maps Imperialism Feminism
Exhibition Theme
5. Europe now -> 5.1. Headlines of our time -> 5.1.8. Colonial heritage
Material / Technique
Paper, papier mâché, steel and varnish
Dimensions
H x W x D 146,00 x 59,00 x 61,00 cm
Place
Production Place: Manchester (England)
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