Re-construction of Police Uniforms
Title of work: COATS.
The Re-Construction of Police Uniforms Phase 1. 2000-2003
In 2000 I started an MA at Goldsmith College London, this is where I started to de-construct police uniforms, fifteen years later and I have only just completed the work.My experience of making this work has been intense due to the repetative process of piercing, stitching these highly embellished pieces, it has been obsessive-compulsive experience. At times it has been very difficult to manipulated the fabric due to the weight of the coats, and dangerous, like working with barbed wire.
Our appearance is what makes us who we are, individual characteristic makes us stand apart from others.We are, in one sense, trapped inside our bodies. When people see my work they always think that it should be worn. I see them as sculptural pieces, which are interlinked, interrelated with which the viewer can interact.These three coats are titled Piercing Truth, Control Freak and Opposites Attract they have been a labour of love / hate and have been the outlet for the emotional turmoil.
I started the work of reconstructing the police uniforms after having a relationship with a special constable.
I wanted to break down the male stereotype, reconstruct the male power image which the uniform reinforces and make it feminine.The heavy embellishment has made them appear as pieces of armour, stitched and pierced and alive with magnetic force, which adds the spontaneous reaction.
Early de-construction of the police uniform . 2000
The beginnings of embellishment.
The work as it was presented in Goldsmiths College. 2001
The Re-Construction of Police Uniforms Phase 2.2005-2009
In 2005 in Chololate Factory in Wood Green in London, I displayed the work during the open studio’s event.
Work shown at studio opening in 2008.
Titles & Medium.
(from left to right of screen)
Opposites Attract– Snap Fastening & Safety Pins.
Piercing Truth– Steel Pins
Control Freak– Magnets Steal Plates & Swarf.
I work with a range of mixed media to embellish surfaces using arrange of process, painting cloth haberdashery items which are both 3D based and 2D.