United Kingdom –
In her series “Icons of Modern Civilisation“, British visual artist, Marianne deals with three themes.
Object of Desire – The female dress has always been the object of desire on its own. The wearer plays an insignificant role. Surely it’s an extreme superficial representation of any woman, who gets her persona reduced to a piece of cloth; faceless and nameless. A detachment that make women fight for the right to author their own identity, which brings me to the question:
To blend in or to stand out? – As it seems to me that the female body can covered up, run away, strip naked, push up, show all or hide in drapes, twerk or booty as much or as little one likes. Regardless what she chooses, the world seldom allows her to forget that she is, first and foremost, an alluring sex object, that sells cars, a trophy, a political discourse etc. If she is anything else, then she is considered to be a superwoman. Not just a human being.
Master of Duality – Women’s fight for equality has always used the female body and fashion as a tool to fight, to be noticed, to be heard, to understand and to be understood. The full veil is no different or stranger to this. It’s as much as political tool as it’s a cultural signifier as it’s a religious one as a sexual one.
