This work is a soft sculptural piece developed as a conceptual idea with the technical assistance of Wendy Chatterton and her project that used recycled T-shirt material.
The base of the form or bag is made from their recycled T-shirt material. Her project created domestic functional pieces such as bath mats; rugs and cushions amongst other items. They were beautifully rendered by her and members of her project. (Thank you, Wendy!)
The bag: a most intimate object that is carried by women (and men) of all description and in different cultural forms. It carries our precious items, ensures that they are safe and usually accompanies us wherever we go. Right?
I do not like bags but find I must use one as my pants does not have the necessary pockets to carry my ID, purse, lipstick, screwdriver and pepper spray. The bag is also a symbol of that which we collect and hold dear. It is functional. It is aesthetic. Fashion wear. They come in all shapes, sizes and colours and are made from all sorts of materials. Our most familiar material (and since times of old) is leather and most recently, fake leather (save our animals?) which graces our shops and shoulders.
The V-Bag edition references the metaphor of ‘that which we carry’; intimacy and use/function. It references body and what is attached to our feminine bodies. It references that which is most secret of our bodies and that which is most impacted on. Our vaginas. They are one of our most intimate body parts and yet most referenced in public slang discourse; they are referenced in derogatory ways and have been painted (e.g. Gutav Corbet); screwed (we know by whom) and desired (we know by whom); stretched in birth throes and become carriers of viruses not placed there by themselves.
This work gives women permission to take back their vaginas. To hold them dear and to include secrets that are ours only. Embedded in the heart of each bag is a unique sculpture-in-the-hand; a secret wish or desire; a special friend less invasive and a gentle reminder of the vagina as a lieu secret de Plaisir and the place of our power – from birthing processes (leave out the clinical caesarean section that negates our prowess) to sexuality (we will decide). Each potent petit puissant is embedded and connected at the base of the bag can be removed to accompany the owner all day – reminding her, nudging her, acknowledging her. [e.g. the black rose]
