Monstrosity, Embodiment
- Boundaries of the body (is there a clear binary between the outside and inside?)
- The Abject – “that which does not respect borders, positions, rules.. that which disturbs identity, system, order” (Kristeva, 1982 cited in Creed, 1993, p8)
- Liminality and socio-cultural rituals designed to diminish the vulnerability of the body (the abject form)
- Embalming and disavowal of ‘organic matter’
- Wrecking the skin
Monsters
- Denying that we are flesh and blood – textures
- Emphasis on the materiality of the body
- Concepts relating to the liminality – inner and outer
- Fluid bodies – shapeshifter, not a fixed form
- Are unrelatable yet relatable
- Femininity is defined by the exterior – male monsters are feminised in horror
- Difference = threat
- Our bodies are vulnerable – our obsession with glamour is a defense mechanism because we’re never going to be ‘ideal bodies’
Tools
- The combination of beauty and grotesque
- Phobias and fears
- Juxtaposition
- Transformation – vampires, werewolves, Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde
- Femininity – Buffalo Bill, as he’d be a woman in his suit
- In-between categories – Dracula isn’t interested in gender/sex – what is he?
- Glamour
Glamour
- Unblemished skin signifies health and perfection – everything is contained as skin is an effective barrier
- Eroticism and sexual desire – fetishism/conceal and reveal
- Beyond human
When you have a cold and your nose runs, you wipe it away as if it was never there. Makeup is to hold the horror of decay at bay.
McQueen, Jack the Ripper Coat, 1992. The inside of the coat is filled with pubic hair and is red with barbed wire, signifying removal and torture/mutilation. The silk lining and it’s feeling on the skin contrasts with the theme.
How can I relate this to my practice?
I’m currently experimenting with vaginas and how women are now under pressure to have a ‘tidy’ vagina – that is with a small labia, no vaginal discharge, etc. I’ve been using clay to create a similar textured look that vaginas generally have, and then “dress them up” using nice and soft fabrics, such as lace and silk to create the fetishism, and obsession with having to distract others from our natural bodies.
saratrouble 