Victoria House Basement, Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4DA
- 16 Feb – 20 February
- 12:00 to 19:00pm
- Closes 17.00pm Saturday 20th February
Zero Gravity is a show that challenges the view about the value of being grounded.
Dress can exhibit the tensions between weightlessness and feelings of free fall, or the opposite – a feeling of pressure being applied to counteract uniformity. When the sensation of weight is introduced it acts to overcome the feelings of inertia.
As gravity allows us to leave our imprints on the world, weightlessness provides the opportunity to explore the unknown. In this exhibition, students from MA Fashion Curation explore the endless interpretations of the theme (zero) gravity through a number of museological and curatorial approaches.
The diverse selections of objects, both historical and contemporary, hint towards the breadth of the subject. Some pieces discuss the experimentation with weight and weightlessness, whilst others concentrate on the influence of zero gravity on our perception and psyche. Indeed, several contributions explore traces left by others, serving as trails leading towards new thoughts and associations.
The dress objects have been sourced from individual collections, and borrowed from designer brands, including a black inflatable jacket by Michiko London Koshino; a red version was originally shown at the V&A Club to Catwalk exhibition.
Students have managed the project, including the exhibition display strategies. Mannequins chosen for the exhibition were provided by Judith Clark’s studio. The individual exhibits tell the story of each student’s preoccupations; working in archives, using innovative display techniques, primary and secondary research, and telling a story.
Professor Gaynor Kavenagh (2000), freelance curator, explains in her book Dream Spaces the interaction between the cognitive and social can ‘illuminate feelings’, (2000: 3). She explains that, ‘The shape or shadow of something, its texture or colour, the operation of space and the people moving through it can be triggers to an endless range of personal associations’ (2010:3).
The exhibition includes objects that have a special meaning for the individual curator whilst collaborating and creating a united curatorial response to a given brief.