My debut collection entitled “Set” tackles and embraces cultural anxiety and familiarity concerning the human figure, creating a dialogue that reveals the quirky, absurd, and relentlessly humorous visual language of the body. As I grew up, my scientist-parents constantly discussed the human body in unidentifiable and sterile language at the dinner table. Hemoglobin, factor nine, thrombosis, and mitogenesis caused my eyes to glaze over. Moreover, growing up in the Midwest, I realized how uptight my peers were concerning the body and its visual representation. By dressing the human form in colorful textures and playful knits, sometime with nipples, my collection presents an accessible confrontation to this frigidity. Everyone wears undies! I begin a piece by sketching abstract shapes of the body either from memory or working loosely from images.
Then, I experiment by plugging various hand and machine knit swatches into the shapes. I then realized that I needed beautifully crafted simple woven separates to balance out the color frenzy that is the knitted component of the collection. Perfectly - fitting - pants - extraordinaire Cathryn Hunt answered this need by creating 100% natural linen and cotton pieces. The initial inspiration for this series of work was Claus Oldenburg’s “Store,” with its large-scale and humorous representation of ordinary objects. Focusing on the human figure, expanding and distorting its proportions, my work challenges pre-existing corporal connotations and forces the viewer to embrace the body as an object. In addition to Oldenburg’s pieces, my work also references the installations of Niki de Saint Phalle and other forms of modern feminist art. My constructions avoid the didactic elements of feminism by celebrating a universal utilitarian freedom.
creativedirector/photographer: Mark Fina - look book designer: Sandrine Amar model: Annie Akerman from major - collaborator: Cathryn Hunt - jewelry designer: Katelin Gibbs hair designer: Anthony Campbell - makeup artist: Daniela Klein - casting: Lisa Duckworth for press inquiries: sydney@showroomseven.com - all other inquiries: info@degen-nyc.com