The first artist that inspired me for my research project is Samara Golden. Her installation, The Meat Grinder’s Iron Clothes, at the Whitney Biennial 2017 caught my attention because of the way she used the space to recreate and portray the message behind the art. The illusion she creates by reflecting each floor with mirror and glass is like looking the same situation or context in two different perspectives. Also, each floor represents a different social and economic status: a penthouse, a middle-class home, an office, and a hospital. In this way, Samara Golden juxtaposed four different contexts in order to show the political and social inequality we live in. In this way, I got inspired by the idea of juxtaposing different contexts, using the traditional shape of corset with a birdcage shape for the lower part of the corset.
Furthermore, I also got inspired by the installation made by the Mexican artist Raul de Nieves. The meticulous use of materials and the combination of them is what makes unique his piece. The use of beads, textiles and different colors make the viewer approach easily to the Mexican culture. Also, the message that de Nieves transmits with his piece is about death but the approach he has is not commonly used in Western cultures. He’s idea about death is that it is an open door for rebirth and to have another life. In this way, the use of metaphor on de Nieve’s piece is what inspired me to use that literary figure in my own piece. Developing the idea of doing a birdcage, I am considering using a flower placed instead of a bird. In this case, the flower would represent women, trapped in an aesthetic fetish imposed by men.
Raul de Nieves:
Samara Golden:
