The Wellcome Collection - Institute of Sexology
[Above pictures taken from the guardian websites,
no photography was allowed inside the exhibition]
[fortunately, I managed to take a few secret pictures]
On starting our new 2 week project named '3 Words' I decided that my museum of choice would be the Wellcome Collection; Institute of Sexology exhibition. It was unlike any of the other options, and I felt would produce the most interesting ideas. My three chosen words from the brief; Francis Bacon, Mark and Chaotic, fitted well into the mood and objects within this exhibition. Throughout the exhibition phallic emblems were prominent, however in the photographs and models the women seemed to be in power. Both Marie Stokes and Masters explored the concept of female empowerment in sex also. As I walked around the collections I made sure I read into every object listed, the link with sex into my words was triggered after watching the video from the Washington University girls only campus. The college girls included straight girls, gay girls, transgender and transsexual girls. Some who didn't identify between sex and gender, some that were religious. Something I picked up on was that the video was slightly dated, yet the girls views on sex and gender were very modern.
My first word Francis Bacon, links extremely well with this concept. As a gay man condemned by his highly religious catholic parents, he turned to alcohol which ultimately killed him. LGBT rights are something that I have noticed are becoming much bigger, not only in London but in other Countries. About a month ago, during my visit to Paris I witnessed a gay pride protest in the back streets of Paris. I think this empowerment of identity is something that would be exciting to explore in Fashion. Jean-Paul Gaultier, a favourite designer of mine looks into body confidence and sexual empowerment. Perhaps looking into his muses and concepts could help influence how I decide to proceed with this project. However, I do not want to 'recreate' something that has already been done.
Much of the exhibition looked into fetishism and the science behind sex, many people kept charts, drew comics and photographed intimate parts of their lives. One photographer's work I was particularly drawn to was Zanele Muholi's collection of pictures of African lesbian women. Muholi left out images on the wall of the women who had died as a result of illness or circumstance related to their sexual choices. This concept of leaving negative spaces is something I wish to pursue in translating it into a fashion piece. It makes the viewer think what was meant to be there, what happened to leave the gap. Which brings me to my next word; 'mark'. The space left an invisable 'mark' of the consequences of being different in an unaccepting society. Much of how I believe Bacon must have felt during the majority of his short life. The photographs themselves were extremely beautiful, almost unedited. The image of a lesbian in many's minds is a specific image of a butch androgynous girl, I think this is what Muholi aimed to eradicate. Removing the stereotype and therefore removing pre-judgements.
The second exhibition I was meant to see was the 'Jack the Ripper' tour, however it wasn't open until 7.30 that evening. In this case I decided to visit a few of the places that are known to be locations of his murders to see what the area looked like now. This wasn't that helpful either, without a tour guide or someone that knows much of the History of East London, the places were just corner shops and clothes shops. Due to the time limit on this project, I would have prefered to return to do this tour when it was showing, but instead I have decided to change my second exhibition to the Tate Briton 'Late at Tate' discussion panel from Nazir Mahzar on 'Fashion Vs Music' on Friday.
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