The Dress of Self-Reliance

This is the first of the seven dresses project. The bodice of this dress is a cast of the upper torso of my daughter taken just before her departure from her childhood home to pursue a career in photography and become self reliant in the world. In this piece of work I am bringing the old fairy tale called Donkeyskin retold by Aimee Bender and renamed the Colour Master, who creates dresses of the sun, moon and stars for the King. The fabulous descriptions of the colours chosen for the fabric of dresses inspired me to do this art piece.

The underskirt of this glass dress is made up of maps of significant places in her life before leaving home. The feathers that make up the skirt are painted with gold mica and has eyes facing the four directions, reflecting her photographic passion and ability to see in all directions. It has bees hung off the sleeves of the arms which extend outward protecting them, representing the fragility and vulnerability of life and the awareness needed to be self reliant, safe and protected in this world.