Kindred Spirits and Shapeshifters

As told through the visual voices of 13 female-identifying and queer artists, this exhibition will demonstrate the power of fashion and its ability to cut a new shape in the world. Fashion deals in the commodification of identity. This exhibition will explore the influence of clothing and other fashion or beauty elements, such as masks, wigs and makeup, on selfhood and its outward expression. In the words of Olivia Laing from a May 2020 article in Elle magazine, ‘what we wear has so much power. Every item in our wardrobe communicates emotions and ideas, subtly or boldly expressing our political stance and point of view. You can dress to conform or to transgress, to fit in or to stand apart.’ From the unconventional silhouettes of Rei Kawakubo’s designs for Comme des Garçons to Dior’s t-shirt with the phrase ‘We should all be feminists’ emblazoned across its chest, fashion can be political and liberating, allowing a person to express their individuality or resist the status quo – from ingrained gender codes to other heteronormative ideals of beauty promoted by the male gaze of the patriarchy.