I have always been a gatherer, collecting and taking in, objects, moments and memories. As I move through life I take traces with me, from the places I walk and the people I meet.
When I unexpectedly entered into glass I discovered a material that had a life of its own, rich with qualities and full of endless possibilities to reflect life. I fell in love with clear glass and the strength it held. I started to combine glass with natural objects to reflect moments and emotions. I used glass as a carrier or shell, placing natural objects within to add colour, texture and a sense of familiarity.
I started making life size glass dresses to express the idea of changing how you feel as simply as changing your clothes. Thinking about how different clothing can affect how we feel, I chose the dress form with the idea of dressing up, or coming out of our day to day. As I continue to work on the dresses, I want to look closely at the effects our clothes have on ourselves and those around us, using glass to reflect the multitude of styles and emotions clothing can project or create. Looking at how our clothing can be a shell or a shield, drawing in or pushing away those who surround us. As well as reflecting on how the clothing affects the wearer and the viewer. I feel these necessary objects of our daily lives are perfect to reflect on life, society and the emotions that fill us every day. Especially since clothing has become such a powerful statement in our society for who we are and who we want to be.
The dresses I have made range from free standing life size dresses that the viewer can interact with to wall dresses that hang and float in space. They become pieces that hold character, personality and emotion. Shells one’s mind could slip into.
As a continuation in this concept and theme of clothing, I decided to reflect back on my time of living in Japan and make metal mesh and glass Kimono’s that hang on the wall. Japanese have traditionally used their Kimono’s to express different aspects about the wearer. I found this idea very interesting as well as being drawn to the simple but very striking form with the notion of every Kimono basically having the same form and size for everyone with adjustments only happening in the folds as one puts one on. The Kimono has been worn traditionally and in the day to day for a very long time giving a great history and tradition to the form as well as making them a perfect canvas to express thoughts and conceptual landscapes.
With this work I continue to combine glass with natural and found objects as well as photography, images I have captured throughout my journeys. As these dresses and kimonos take on a life of their own I hope to brush against moments we all pass through in life. Creating an intimate place where the viewer can enter and move through.
Tanya Lyons