Armoured Femininity
Photo credit Cerys Lund
Artist Statement
My practice takes inspiration from medieval armour, investigating its protection both physically and emotionally. I work with the transfeminine body, looking to enhance its femininity and emphasising the figure, whilst creating a piece that empowers the wearer.
I explore traditional mail making techniques and pair them with contemporary approaches. I have experimented with scale, increasing link sizes and wire widths, transferring the historically physical defence of mail to protect the wearer against society. I feel that the weight, texture and temperature of the steel plays an important role in the presentation of protection.
Reflection
Throughout this project I have begun a new discovery into chain mail. I have driven myself to learn the historical craft of mail making, learning the art of a patient and repetitive workflow. Additionally, I have taken my skills in blacksmithing to adapt the traditional methods to explore scaling up using steel rods. This larger scale mail is in my opinion the most effective element of the piece. Through extensive testing I have refined the process to achieve a clean, uniform and repeatable link. I feel that this is an area that I will explore further and push the limitation of in S&R.
I also developed my method of producing traditional riveted wire mail, through online research and material testing. The result in my final piece was at a level that I am partially satisfied with. Historical examples of this show perfectly replicated links, creating a uniform structure. However, my links are all slightly different shapes and thicknesses. Additionally, to achieve the roughly 180 links to create the final piece I had to cut 800, a significant loss from every step of the process. I think that the best way to improve my practice is to seek the help of a professional and learn a more in-depth historical workflow.
I furthered my blacksmithing skills through the production of the hardware that hold the piece together. I have previously created a clasp from forged steel in Tradition Innovation and drew upon the previous skills and lessons learned during the project. My main challenge this time was to create uniform and repeatable clasps and buckles. I struggled with the limitations of the workshop and developed tooling and dedicated lots of time to work out an order of operations that gave me consistent results. This involved a mix of hand bending using a turning fork and the creation of jigs. One of the main problems was my lack of experience welding, which resulted in changes in the design but also imperfection in the final hardware. This is an area that I need to dedicate more time to and practice my welding during S&R.
I continued my journey in leatherworking to create the straps to hold the piece together. Having previously done simple work in UC2 I replicated the same saddle stitch methods. However, as I had trouble with the hardware and the tight deadline of my collaboration with Lauren Broxton, I didn’t glue before stitching. This resulted in the pieces slipping when punching the holes as well as stitching. I source some veg tan leather designed for belts and straps. Despite it being a high quality the mat finish contrasted with the rougher forge scale finish of the steel. Additionally, the leather was thicker than others I have previously worked with meaning that when I punched the holes on one side it would look square but the other could be at an unintended angle. Overall, I needed to set aside more time for the leatherworking as in general the mistakes made were due to me rushing.
There are some samples and techniques that I developed through the project that I dropped from the final piece. I believe that the plate mail was one of the strongest of these. I struggled with overcrowding the composition of my design which would have watered down the impact of each element. These areas I want to pick back up during S&R.
Throughout the project I struggled to find a definitive narrative for my work. I started with the intensions to protect and empower the transfeminine body. Additionally, I wanted to explore coverage of the body, exposure and redirecting the attention of viewers away. However, I didn’t know how to communicate this using plate and mail armour. I found that simplifying the design and only focusing on the protection and empowerment using mail created a more impactful and collected narrative. I would like to revisit these additional ideas and techniques in their own individual pieces in S&R.
S&R Proposal
For Synthesis and Resolution, I want to continue my exploration of armour as a modern form of protection against society. I will create a collection of pieces that cover differing locations on the body. Focusing on one body part at a time, I can address specific issues and insecurities by increasing the coverage or redirecting the viewers eye. I will continue to work with the transfeminine body to communicate personal struggles and how I can find a way through my work to address and overcome them. I feel that connecting with other transfeminine individuals may help to guide my narrative under a closer, shared experience. Also, I think that engaging with my community may bring out ideas that I hadn’t focused on or overlooked.
I want to continue to develop the different forms of mail, both plate and chain. By varying the coverage and protection these elements have can guide the narrative. Also, I think that testing the limits of the forged steel links by scaling up even further could expand and broaden my approaches to design. I am currently only just pushing the traditional scale and want to explore different routes.
I still wish to work in a fashion / couture environment to communicate my work. I would like to explore having a more direct role in a larger photoshoot where I can curate the elements to strengthen the narrative. Connecting and collaborating with other fashion designers who align with my narratives may set me up for work of a similar type when leaving university.
