Functional Ornamentation

Does one’s choice of bodily adornment or articles of dress, reflect their personal identity? If so, do their more intimate adornments provide a clearer picture of who they are?

Functional Ornamentation turns the notion of conventional vessel form inside out, or rather outside in. This investigation examines both utilitarian and non-utilitarian articles of clothing, as well as the internality of the relationship that wearers of clothing have to their wearables-- specifically their relationship to underwear, versus the exteriority that is reflected in outerwear. There are multiple levels of influence that can be factored in when determining one’s identity. Those influences in turn may have an effect on outerwear choice. I’ve begun to wonder what a person’s undergarments say about their identity. For most, undergarments are only really seen by the wearer and their selected audience. They are intimate and secretive. The question of whether undergarments as such, give a more accurate picture of one’s inner life or substance than exterior wear intrigues me. The relationship of internal to external, power to oppression, utility to beauty and the role that adornment plays in the everyday are the sub-themes that drive my exploration and impact the viewer’s role in the construction of meaning.
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