FABRIC: TOUCH & IDENTITY
‘A CLICHÉ-BUSTING PROJECT, WHICH PUSHES PAST EASY ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT GENDER AND SEXUALITY.’
The Arts Society Magazine
Playful and provocative, this exhibition explores how clothes and fabric conceal, reveal and seduce through the lenses of art, design, fashion, film and dance. Featuring works by a diverse range of international contemporary artists, it demonstrates how artists and designers have employed fabric to express and subvert societal expectations, explore sexuality and personal identities, and investigate the physical sensations and engagements that we make with fabric. Curated with Professor Alice Kettle (Manchester Metropolitan University) and Professor Lesley Millar (University for the Creative Arts) the exhibition is developed from their research project and book The Erotic Cloth (Bloomsbury Academic, 2018).
Explore the exhibition digitally by touching on the works below to hear more from the artists and curators
MY LOVE, I WILL EAT YOU ALIVE by Ruta Naujalyte
Introduced by exhibition curator Lesley Millar
Run time, 01:46 mins
MRS BALDWIN IN EASTERN DRESS by Joshua Reynolds
Introduced by curator Amy Orrock
Run time, 01:26 mins
LAURENT by Nina Saunders
Introduced by exhibition curator Lesley Millar
Run time, 00:57 mins
TERME DI DIOCLEZIANO (THE BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN)
Introduced by artist Liz Rideal
Run time, 01:44 mins
ADAM AND EVE
Introduced by curator and artist Alice Kettle
Run time, 01:39 mins
WHAT PLEASURE by Nigel Hurlstone and RED SUIT by Vivienne Westwood
Introduced by curator Alice Kettle
Run time, 02:33 mins
PARADISE LOST
Introduced by artist Beverly Ayling-Smith
Run time, 01:49 mins
FEMINIST FABRIC: A FAT CORSET
Introduced by artist Raisa Kabir
Run time, 01:36 mins
ERASE
Introduced by artist Cathy de Monchaux
Run time, 02:10 mins
MATERIALLY MEASURED
Introduced by artist Maxine Bristow
Run time, 01:34 mins
HAORI SHUNGA KIMONO
Introduced by exhibition curator Lesley Millar
Run time, 01:02 mins
OGI NO MAI / JAPANESE FANFARE by Reiko Sudo
Introduced by curator Amy Orrock
Run time, 01:34 mins
Banner image: Ogi no mai / Japanese Fanfare, 2020, Textiles by Reiko Sudo of Nuno corporation, Scenography by Adrien Gardère of Studio Adrien Gardère, Production by Kazuhiro Ueno of Nuno corporation, photograph by Jamie Woodley