July 29, 2012

THE MIRROW OF PAST AND PRESENT


Fashion has always taken inspiration from the past decades. In designers hands the visual content of the past has been modified to fit in the present moment. And our attention is drawn to these beautiful dresses, accessories and other object presented in the catwalks, stores and magazines. However, underlying dialogues between past and present often remains to whispering. 

Design museum Copenhagen wants to draw more attention to similarities between the past and present with the exhibition Rokoko-Mania. The past is presented via selected items, dresses, textiles, mirrors and furniture of 18th-century from the museum’s collection, companion with works of four contemporary artists; British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare and Danish fashion designers Nikoline Liv Andersen, Anne Damgaard and Laura Baruël. Their artworks, dresses and clothing sculptures work as bridge between now and then. Interesting themes among other are consumerism and colonialism.

The exhibition also manages to draw attention to other interesting relationship – relationship between art and fashion. Fashion itself, moves in borderline of clothing and art. Some designers works seen in catwalk can considered more like a wearable art than clothing. Yet, the attention of audience is different depending on the context where dresses and other wearable art pieces are presented.  When art pieces are presented in the museum side by side historical items, the dialogue between past and present is louder and easier to follow.

Yinka Shonibare’s 18th-century costumes with African prints mirror the 18th-century colonialism and power structures in contemporary global world. The connection to this present moment is strong and extremely contemporary; the one of the summer 2012 trend is African inspired motifs, prints and fabrics. The one of the most noticed collection with African textiles was Marni’s summer 2012 collection for Hennes and Mauritz. 

Yinka Shonibare - photo:eija

Yinka Shonibare - photo:eija


Melankolyst. Anne Damgaard’s dresses draws attention to rococo costumes’ details like fans and corsets. 

Anne Damgaard - photo:eija

Anne Damgaard - photo:eija


LAURA BARUËL 

Mountain Scape. Laura Baruël’s costume sculptures, made of paper and silk, replicate rococo costume’s silhouette. The group of white flowing sculptures echoes the lightness of the Rococo era. 

Laura Baruël - photo:eija


The Dance of the Deaf and Dumb Eye. Nikoline Liv Andersen’s costume sculptures are humanistic and serious at the same time. In her work rococo wigs turn to three Japanese monkeys. The three wise monkeys embody the saying “see on evil, hear no evil and speak no evil”. By shutting their eyes, ears and mouth, they prevent themselves to acknowledge to problematic situations and questions around. In Andersen’s work, the monkey wigs symbolize the blindness of today’s consumers. For fashion cycle – the ever changing cycle of different styles and trends presented each season - to reaches the ongoing fast speed, fashion is connected to consumerism. However, in which costs do we keep fashion cycle alive and ongoing?

Nikoline Liv Andersen - photo:eija
Nikoline Liv Andersen - photo:eija

Nikoline Liv Andersen - photo:eija

Nikoline Liv Andersen - photo:eija
All photos: eija