February Update

Hi everyone!

UPCOMING SHOW! I am helping organise a show held at Sixonesix Gallery on King Street in Cambridge, as well as showing some of my work. This show will bring together students from the Cambridge School of Art Fine Art degree from 2nd and 3rd years. This promises to be a really exciting show so make sure you come see us! Click here for the Facebook event!


So this month I've ben busy working on my final project for my degree course- stressful to say the last! I have been exploring themes of female sexuality in identity in Photography. I started this project looking at Belle de Jour by Luis Bunuel and Catherine Deneuve's character and the way she dealt with her sexual desires and fantasies.




I am interested in expressing repressed sexual emotions through the medium of Photography avoiding highly sexual imagery and instead using the power of the female gaze.  I have been using black and white photography to relate to the work of Man Ray and surrealist photography. I am especially interested in expressing a kind of sexual freedom, away from the usual sense of taboo and repressed female sexuality in the media and today's society. These photographs explore female identity and sexuality in a direct way, facing issues directly.

Work Update

I am currently involved in a show based on Michel Foucault's concept of Heterotopia, click here for the blog I have created for the event.

Here are the posters for the event, the first Private View will be on the 7th of February.

I will add some information on my work for this show shortly.

I hope some of you can make it!

Video Update

I have updated my Videos content on my websites and added four new videos, you can see them here.

frame&set

06-12/09/12 // by claire's accessories //grafton centre

cambridge

collaboration with Karl Dmitri Bishop

short film in post production

with thanks to changing spaces

FACEBOOK EVENT

Trend Report: Dip-Dyed Hair

This is one of my favourite trends at the moment! Unfortunately it's not 

much good for me as I have short hair and unlike Rhianna

it's not sticking up on its ends so I will have to wait a while until

I can actually do this... But I still think it looks amazing. 

It can be bright and wacky or more subtle like

Alexa Chung :)

Style Icon: Anna Piaggi

Anna Piaggi is an Italian Fashion writer and style icon. SHe has worked for the Italian Vogue and in the late 80's the avant-garde magazine Vanity.

I have only just discovered this amazing lady and I am suprised I have lived this long without picking up on her! Her style is simply breathtaking, she is daring, kooky and eccentric. Her friend, design Karl Lagerfeld said : "She dresses the way one plays a role. She's a great perfomer, but she is also the author of the play" (quote from The NY Times)

Here are some fashion items inspired by the great lady Piaggi herself!

Tapestry Doctor's Bag

Fantasy Fur Lap Collar @ ASOS

Irregular Choice Tutti Frutti Print Slingback

Chris Ofili

Today I purchased a framed copy of Chris Ofili's No Woman No Cry from Cancer Research UK (for only £4!). I have been wanting this print for a few weeks to add to my bedroom. Chris Ofili is one of my favourite collage artists, I find his work so visually and mentally stimulating I can never take my eyes off it. I have never been lucky enough to see his work in the flesh but the scale of it in real life makes it all the more inspiring and daring.

One thing I really enjoy about this piece is its colourful and traditional pattern reflecting African culture. This is also present in the way the actual piece of work is presented, it is not hung but held up by two piles of elephant dung. Both of these carry a strong and powerful message, throughout time and tradition sadness and grief have always held a part of our lives regardless of our cultures and backgrounds. The feelings that Stephen Lawrence's family went through are universal, I feel Chris Ofili captures this beautifully by collecting elements that together capture the tragedy of the event.

"This piece of work (No Woman No Cry) is a tribute to the London teenager Stephen Lawrence. The Metropolitan police investigation into his racially motivated murder was mishandled, and subsequent inquiry described the police form as institutionally racist.

In each of the tears shed by the woman of the painting is a collaged image of Stephen Lawrence's face (right), while the words 'R.I.P. Stephen Lawrence' are just discernible beneath the layers of paint. Despite these specific references, the artist also intended the painting to be read in more general terms, as a universal portrayal of melancholy and grief." (Tate)

More on Chris Ofili on wikipedia here :)

LAZY OAF!

 

  So today's been a very lazy day, I have been on the couch for a few hours now and have been in and out of magazine for inspiration and I came across this great image of Cher Lloyd wearing an amazing techno-aztez necklace from Lazy Oaf.
I hadn't heard of this label before so decided to look it up and it's just fantastic! A real eclectic mix of bright graphics and funky illustrations with classic cuts. A win win!!!
Here are a few of my own highlights from the website, enjoy!

For more information visit the website!

(click on the banner)

I want to Walk You Home

Very Hot day!

So today I decided to finally wear this Tiki dress I bought at a vintage market stall in Cambridge, it cost me way too much but i fell in love with it instantly!

it is a bit on the tight side boobwise but its worth the squash!

Ive always been too timid to wear it out, but everyone at work loved it! On the left is a picture of the dress with a different neckline, the one I have is a halter neck.

I got the photo from the Collectif website which is full of beautiful things!On the right is a photo of me and the dress :) It was so hot I had to put all my hair back! Not bald!

Swimdresses

So, going to Greece this summer I've realised I need new swimwear! I'm kinda tired of feeling insecure in bloody skimpy bikinis so decided to look for something that covered me up some more. Looking at vintage swimwear I found that women looked a lot classier back in the 50's when they were covered up. These kinds of swimsuits are come back in fashion recently but seem to be marketed towards middle age women. It has been quite difficult to find a good swimdress under£25 so I might need to fork out, but these are some of my favourites:

1. Touristy Swimdress Tankini by Red or Dead - £67.50

2. Scallop Red Swimdress by Red or Dead - £67.50

3. Striking Geo Unique Swimdress Two Pieces - £28.54

4. Beach2Beach Swimdress - £42

Jessica Dolby

For more of Jessica Dolby's work click here.

Karin Starmar

For more of Karin Starmar's work click here

The Men of '73 - PK

alternatively click here!