Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2011 Presentation Review: Maria Francesca Pepe (by Helen)

Maria_Francesca_Pepe_Abby_Wright_LFW
Maria_Francesca_Pepe_Abby_Wright_LFW

MariaFrancescaPepe LFW A/W 2011. Illustration by Abby Wright.

It was extremely dark in that first room. Save for a few lamps casting red strips of a blood-like glow. Certain points were lit up on the model, information pills the shining metal spikes, dosage the dull sheen of black leather and the pointed hat. I will be honest now. I had to check that the model was in fact a mannequin. She was. But checking was interesting. The light was so low and I was terrified she would move suddenly. An intimidating mannequin.

red

Hels MFP 5

Hels MFP 1

I wasn’t sure whether the rest of the models would be mannequins too, but as we entered slightly more light filled rooms, it was obvious that these ones were real. But they were also a higher level of scary. Two looked like mermaids trapped on rocks. Occasionally shifting, they looked confident, bored and yet super vulnerable and TRAPPED. I felt myself want to look at them closer, but then one of them looked me in the eye. Which was a shock. These models, with their purposefully lank, long hair, dark eyes, glossy and pale skin, ghostlike sheer dresses, and fabulous golden accessories looked like aliens. Of course ridiculously beautiful aliens.

Hels MFP 5

Hels MFP 5

Photography Helen Martin

I have to say that I was mesmerised by the back of one model. She had a golden, Egyptian styled headpiece, in the shape of eyes. The three main headpieces were forged by hand in resin and carbon steel, then varnished in opalescent acrylics and hand studded with brass and Swarovski hexagonal studs. They are designed in the style of medieval shields and helmets. The tiara for me was my favourite however, it looked regal and yet delicate and pretty. Also empowering, I imagine a useful attribute for whichever land she/you/me might be in. In contrast, although also empowering, MariaFrancescaPepe‘s shoes looked like something you could definitely cause GBH with. Not pretty, pretty – fierce! In a more sultry way than Rihanna fierce. With enormous spikes at the top, their cream colour, did little to belie their extra ridiculous height and metal danger.

Hels MFP 3

Hels MFP 3

Photography Helen Martin

Like the tiara, the majority of the presentation focused on eyes. Earrings, rings and chains…. EYES. This was a small issue for me. Ever since my brother told me the details of his eye operation at five years old, and then watching Dali’s eye slitting scene – ugh- I’m feeling sick as I write, I have been afraid of anything touching eyes. Or just weird eyes. And in truth… Dali. Cue sweeping generalisation alert: In terms of films, books, art and what I have seen; the 30s, like the 70s, seem like the scariest decades to me. Thus, when the saddest and scariest looking model of them all, looked at me right in the eye, with her incredibly, INTENSELY mesmerising own eyes, I didn’t know what to do. Transfixing model.

Hels MFP 5

Model looking at me… Photography Helen Martin

It’s not surprising that MariaFrancescaPepe has been heavily influenced by Dali’s surrealism for this collection. As I read: ‘Objects of magical meaning and of inner strength. A mask hides and reveals at the same time. Eyes are a mirror for the soul. Dali’s surrealism lesson has been learnt.’ The presentation was tribal and punky, but also ethereal and ghost-like. Almost like facing your own deep reality, that of the soul’s and our desires. The ‘ahhhhhhhhhhh’ music added to these fearful and reflective thoughts. It was as if MariaFrancescaPepe had gone through Indiana Jones’s chest of treasure, added in some Alien, X Files, lots of Dali and then Marilyn Manson on top. Sounds odd, is odd – but also very interesting. It comes as no surprise that Lady GaGa apparently ‘embodies’ MariaFrancescaPepe’s accessories.

Categories ,Abby Wright, ,Alien, ,brass, ,cuffs, ,Dali, ,Dominatrix, ,Ethereal, ,Eyes, ,Fortuna, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,Helen Martin, ,jewellery, ,lfw, ,LFW A/W 2011, ,MariaFrancescaPepe, ,Mermaids, ,Pretty, ,Spikes, ,Swarovski, ,X Files

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2011 Presentation Review: Maria Francesca Pepe (by Helen)

Maria_Francesca_Pepe_Abby_Wright_LFW
Maria_Francesca_Pepe_Abby_Wright_LFW

MariaFrancescaPepe LFW A/W 2011. Illustration by Abby Wright.

It was extremely dark in that first room. Save for a few lamps casting red strips of a blood-like glow. Certain points were lit up on the model, information pills the shining metal spikes, dosage the dull sheen of black leather and the pointed hat. I will be honest now. I had to check that the model was in fact a mannequin. She was. But checking was interesting. The light was so low and I was terrified she would move suddenly. An intimidating mannequin.

red

Hels MFP 5

Hels MFP 1

I wasn’t sure whether the rest of the models would be mannequins too, but as we entered slightly more light filled rooms, it was obvious that these ones were real. But they were also a higher level of scary. Two looked like mermaids trapped on rocks. Occasionally shifting, they looked confident, bored and yet super vulnerable and TRAPPED. I felt myself want to look at them closer, but then one of them looked me in the eye. Which was a shock. These models, with their purposefully lank, long hair, dark eyes, glossy and pale skin, ghostlike sheer dresses, and fabulous golden accessories looked like aliens. Of course ridiculously beautiful aliens.

Hels MFP 5

Hels MFP 5

Photography Helen Martin

I have to say that I was mesmerised by the back of one model. She had a golden, Egyptian styled headpiece, in the shape of eyes. The three main headpieces were forged by hand in resin and carbon steel, then varnished in opalescent acrylics and hand studded with brass and Swarovski hexagonal studs. They are designed in the style of medieval shields and helmets. The tiara for me was my favourite however, it looked regal and yet delicate and pretty. Also empowering, I imagine a useful attribute for whichever land she/you/me might be in. In contrast, although also empowering, MariaFrancescaPepe‘s shoes looked like something you could definitely cause GBH with. Not pretty, pretty – fierce! In a more sultry way than Rihanna fierce. With enormous spikes at the top, their cream colour, did little to belie their extra ridiculous height and metal danger.

Hels MFP 3

Hels MFP 3

Photography Helen Martin

Like the tiara, the majority of the presentation focused on eyes. Earrings, rings and chains…. EYES. This was a small issue for me. Ever since my brother told me the details of his eye operation at five years old, and then watching Dali’s eye slitting scene – ugh- I’m feeling sick as I write, I have been afraid of anything touching eyes. Or just weird eyes. And in truth… Dali. Cue sweeping generalisation alert: In terms of films, books, art and what I have seen; the 30s, like the 70s, seem like the scariest decades to me. Thus, when the saddest and scariest looking model of them all, looked at me right in the eye, with her incredibly, INTENSELY mesmerising own eyes, I didn’t know what to do. Transfixing model.

Hels MFP 5

Model looking at me… Photography Helen Martin

It’s not surprising that MariaFrancescaPepe has been heavily influenced by Dali’s surrealism for this collection. As I read: ‘Objects of magical meaning and of inner strength. A mask hides and reveals at the same time. Eyes are a mirror for the soul. Dali’s surrealism lesson has been learnt.’ The presentation was tribal and punky, but also ethereal and ghost-like. Almost like facing your own deep reality, that of the soul’s and our desires. The ‘ahhhhhhhhhhh’ music added to these fearful and reflective thoughts. It was as if MariaFrancescaPepe had gone through Indiana Jones’s chest of treasure, added in some Alien, X Files, lots of Dali and then Marilyn Manson on top. Sounds odd, is odd – but also very interesting. It comes as no surprise that Lady GaGa apparently ‘embodies’ MariaFrancescaPepe’s accessories.

Categories ,Abby Wright, ,Alien, ,brass, ,cuffs, ,Dali, ,Dominatrix, ,Ethereal, ,Eyes, ,Fortuna, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,Helen Martin, ,jewellery, ,lfw, ,LFW A/W 2011, ,MariaFrancescaPepe, ,Mermaids, ,Pretty, ,Spikes, ,Swarovski, ,X Files

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Amelia’s Magazine | Exhibition Review: Alice in Wonderland at the Tate Liverpool

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool
A few weeks ago I was whisked up to Liverpool to see a preview of the new Tate exhibition Alice in Wonderland, which runs until the 29th January 2011. The Tate Liverpool is located in a warehouse on the edge of the rapidly evolving dockside area, now home to many a museum and art gallery.

Nyima 445 by Annelies Strba
Nyima 445 by Annelies Strba.

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-Annelies Strba
Nyima 438 (detail) by Annelies Strba.

Our tour began with a visit to the ground floor exhibition, which looks at the influence of Alice in Wonderland in modern art. Strba‘s floating girls certainly have the eery quality of an Alice-like dream, but Jason Rhoades‘ neon words provide a more tenuous link to the playful language of the novels.

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-Jason Rhoades
Tate Touche from My Madinah: in pursuit of my ermitage by Jason Rhoades.

On the way to the main top floor exhibition the walls are embossed with curving quotes from the artists who have felt the Alice influence. ‘I spent my childhood surrounded by animals, so I particularly enjoy the enchanted world of shape-shifting anthropomorphic beasts that Carroll brings to life,’ says Samantha Sweeting.

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-books
Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-books
Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-books
Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-books
Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-books
The exhibition starts with a room full of cabinets crammed with Alice in Wonderland books, including the original manuscripts that are worth a small fortune. The cabinets are busy but I enjoyed comparing the illustrative depictions of different artists, including Moomin maker Tove Jansson. A series of Mazzawattee tea tins caught my eye as well as a very fetching Alice furnishing fabric, printed in 1920 but still wonderful today.

Alice Pleasance Liddell, Summer 1858
Alice Pleasance Liddell, Summer 1858.

Lewis was a great friend of the Romantic movement and it is postulated that he drew on this aesthetic to create his own book worthy heroine, who was of course based on a real little girl. The exhibition takes a tour through the real Alice’s life, as seen through Lewis Carroll‘s eyes, and includes some wonderful photographs which showcase his experiments in double exposure to achieve a dream like image.

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-Dali
Alice in Wonderland illustrations by Salvador Dali (detail).

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-Joan Armstrong Dreaming Head
Dreaming Head by John Armstrong.

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-Le Grand Jour by Roland Penrose
Le Grand Jour by Roland Penrose (detail).

I had no idea that Alice had such a claim on the Surrealist movement but here the direct links are laid out – Dali created a whole series of Alice inspired artworks and a proposed animation eventually became a film. The next room features a room devoted to works by the Children of Alice: 1930s British surrealist artists who experimented with ideas about the disruption of time and language to create new worlds. It’s hard to see a direct link back to the little girl in the photographs of the previous room, but it’s intriguing to learn about such obscure Alice connections.

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-Paul Laffoley
Alice Pleasance Liddell by Paul Laffoley (detail)

John Wesley - Falling Alice
Falling Alice by John Wesley.

Alice influenced art was obviously big in the 1960s and Adrian Piper‘s typically psychedelic paintings are utterly evocative of the era. Yayoi Kusama even created an Alice themed Happening, with polka-dot painted naked people cavorting in Central Park for the cameras.

Kiki Smith Pool of Tears
Pool of Tears by Kiki Smith.

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-Bill Woodrow
Humpty Dumpty by Bill Woodrow.

Of course, it has not just been the content of the book which has inspired artists down the ages, but also the fantastical imagery of Alice and friends. Kiki Smith‘s Pool of Tears 2 depicts Alice swimming with a host of new beasts, and Bill Woodrow‘s sculpture recalls the precarious stance of Humpty Dumpty.

Alice in Wonderland tate liverpool-Samantha Sweeting
Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit, Run Run Run by Samantha Sweeting.

The exhibition finishes with a mix of contemporary installations, some of which are more Alice themed than others. Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit, Run Run Run shows the artist reanimating a dead rabbit with her hands. Gary Hill‘s Why do things get in a muddle? (Come on Petunia) is a curious film that was made in the 80s and features the peculiar relationship between an Alice figure and her father. This is an ambitious and interesting exhibition but one aspect remains under explored. Why was the real Alice so very special to Lewis?

The exhibition is accompanied by a lovely book, Alice in Wonderland Through the Visual Arts.

Categories ,60s, ,Adrian Piper, ,Alice in Wonderland Through the Visual Arts, ,Annelies Strba, ,Bill Woodrow, ,Charles L. Dodgson, ,Children of Alice, ,Dali, ,film, ,Gary Hill, ,Humpty Dumpty, ,Jason Rhoades, ,John Armstrong, ,John Wesley, ,Kiki Smith, ,Lewis Carroll, ,Mazzawattee, ,Moomin, ,Paul Laffoley, ,Pool of Tears 2, ,review, ,Roland Penrose, ,Romantic, ,Run Rabbit Run Rabbit Run Run Run, ,Samantha Sweeting, ,surrealism, ,Tate Liverpool, ,Tove Jansson, ,Why do things get in a muddle? (Come on Petunia), ,Yayoi Kusama

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