Wednesday, 22 April 2009

Abjection Theory?

I have found there are connotations with white clothing of angels, purity, innocence, Christian traditions of white weddings and saving ones self for one person, naivety. I think the prints subtly hold some of these values being crisp clean and white and the audience may see the prints and relate to some connotations like these. But in contrast, the prints being made from other peoples used undies, which for all the audience knows could be red pink black colours with opposite connotations to white. 


The prints have been made from underwear of all shapes, sizes, colours and are all second hand with varying need of the bin! Upon being faced with some one else's used knickers, a person would be most likely repulsed because he or she is forced to face an object which is cast out of weston culture. Knickers are supposed to be private, only worn for a day to be slung in the washing machine.



I am really interested in finding out more about Abjection Theory as I have sparse knowledge. Correct me if I'm wrong.. Abjection has a lot to do with disorder and barriers of the body, for example blood, blood is abject because the skin (barrier) is broken and this disorder reminds us of our mortality. Or spit, spit is abject because the barrier from the body has been crossed also. Knickers aren't abject, but they are made to protect a barrier between the body.. any bodily fluids on the knickers, they are abject!.. 


I think the initial response to the prints and the response upon knowledge of how the prints are made are contrasting and this intrigues me...



1 comment:

  1. You might want to look at Julia Kristeva, she is interested in what you could call the fissures in language and how these reveal what lies beneath. Lacan’s ‘Mirror stage’ defines the problems surrounding the infant’s separation from the mother, but Kristeva adds into this a post Oedipal reading in order to balance out his male bias.
    This type of reading is often opposed to a symbolic reading and is tied up within the psychological power of rejection as an ordering principle.

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