MOMI Inspired Collection – The Black Swan
Bust of Nina Sayers and Lever Device, Black Swan (2010)
The object I chose is a bust of Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman, created by makeup artist Mike Marino for the movie Black Swan. I chose this object because I think the movie is a brilliant psychological thriller and addresses the impact of mental illness very well. This bust was used in a scene where Nina has a hallucination of her being strangled because of her inner struggle of giving the perfect performance as the Swan Queen, and her neck was lengthened through special effect, achieved by the lever under the bust. Throughout the movie, the portrayal of Nina slowly losing her mind over perfecting the sweet white swan, as well as the evil black swan, is shown by the transition of the color palette, which evolves from white that shows innocence to black that shows more of the dark side of human psychology. The physical metamorphosis of Nina slowly growing feathers and wings was also though-provoking and visually challenging for me, but I want to create a collection that illustrates the process of the physical and the mental changes that Nina goes through. The collection will convey the dichotomy of good and evil, and the juxtaposition of reality and illusion, with the use of different fabrics and mixed media, such as mirrors and feathers to better illustrate the shape of each garment, and portray a sense of the reflection of different personalities and fragility of mental stability.
Mood Board
Sketches – Stream of Consciousness
Textures:
Final Sketches
– The Metamorphosis Collection, Spring 2021 –
