Final Corset
After looking into my experiments i found that the photograph i took of the skin was exactly what i wanted as i got the reactions of disgust or being uncomfortable and with my corset i want this to come across as i wanted it to look like something in which is decaying. I took in consideration that the paint didn’t look effective when dried so i decided to use fake blood, as this is used to give an effect of real blood so would give a realistic approach. I dipped the cling film into the fake blood, having it drip down the film as i wrapped it around the corset. As i wrapped the blood smeared and smudged but it added to the effect that someone has touched or grabbed them. As i left the corset i realized the the fake blood wasn’t going to dry onto the cling film as it was a waterproof material i used and the blood wasn’t absorbing into it. To resolve this i had to place another layer of cling film over the top, having a transparent layer allowed creases and wrinkles to be made adding to the effect that is a layer of skin over the top of ripped off flesh. As the blood was trapped underneath the cling film it started to clot in areas and still looked wet which kept the effect that it was fresh and recently made, keeping the realistic look and it allowed you to be able to handle the corset without getting anything messy. As it was drying a little i wanted to use a craft knife to cut into the clingfilm layer on the top creating slashes in the body itself. I wanted to create a trail from the middle of the corset right down to the bottom of the stomach area, showing a link to the story itself, making people aware of the area. Adding other slashes as if someone was struggling to get away from what was happening. After doing that i wanted to stitch into the slashes as the Ripper stitched the victims back up after he took out their insides, showing neat stitching which i used cotton with to look like doctors stitches. The blood which was left over i ran my fingers down the string at the back, smudging blood onto it as the white was too clean and it made it look as if someone had been trying to get the clothing from them after butchering them up.
As i showed people my corset when it was finally created i got the reaction of people saying that it was awful and that it was making them feel disgusting and uncomfortable, which is the reaction i was expecting as it isn’t something what is nice and something what doesn’t make you feel happy. Some said it looks realistic of the body which was making them feel sick. I feel that it has the shock factor to make people think about the whole story behind it. I also found that even though it looked disgusting that people still wanted to touch it and handle it or try it on which takes me back to it playing with your haptics.
If i was to display this piece i would place it into a glass case, so you would get the sense of wanting to get close and touch but it is something you shouldn’t be getting close to or touching, having those boundries into a mystery you shouldn’t be part of, and gives you that desire which links to what i was trying to portray.
This was created life size for an actual person wearing it using all non traditional materials in which clothes would often be made from. This makes it not a wearable piece and more of a sculpture piece as over time it wouldn’t be sustainable and would lose its quality. The materials in which i had used link to the sound victorian clothing would make having that rustle stiff effect on them. Doing this project proved to be a lot of time management as you had to wait for layers to dry and pieces to be applied on at different stages. I found that taking a photo when it was wet gave a better effect to the reality of how it is supposed to look but having the actual product shows that it can decay or change over time. The corset style fits the fetish or desire of victorian clothing or modern underwear.
