Judie Balagot

Madame de Pompadour at her Tarnbour Frame, 1763-4, by Francois-Hubert Drouais.

The first thing that stands out the most is the subject herself, Madame de Pompadour. The way the artist presents her face with brighter contrast than the rest of the painting. Although the focus is on her, the artist sustains the details throughout the entire artwork. For example the intricate lace on the hem of the dress, the floral brocade, the furnishings, and the shadows and creases on the red sheet. Furthermore, as I continue to observe the artwork, the dog seems to be unintentionally hidden in the composition. As at first look, the dog appears to be a leg of the tarnbour frame. 

The Toilet of Venus (‘The Rokeby Venus’), 1647-51, by Diego Velazquez.

This artworks’ subject, which is the naked woman is what stands out the most at first look. The reason being is nudity. As I continue to look at the painting, the artist expresses vanity as the woman, Venus, appears to be staring at her reflection. She could also perhaps be looking back at the artist which suggests a relationship between the two or a connection to the viewer.

Unit by David Booth. Mixed media.

Disorientation. Abstract. Displacement. Futuristic. Surreal. Race.

The figure seems half-human and half-machine like a futuristic portrait of humankind. There is a combination of detailed painting and expressive mark making. For example, the eyes, lips and part of the nose are meticulously realistic and the others are quite abstract. This reminds me of Picassos’ paintings.

When I first look at the work, the darkness and the lighting in the image draws me in. The contrast is strong but subtle at the same time because of the soft shadows and reflection created in the image. As I keep looking at Singhs’ work, I noticed raw edges that was near seamless, realising that it’s actually a collage of  photographs she has taken. The components was put together so harmoniously that it looked like an actual interior image of the building/house. Almost surreal-like as Singh is radically creating a space/scene. The collages are also linear that gives an architectural and minimalism element to her work. The collages, as a whole, is empty in terms of objects/person. Though it does make you focus on the finer details of the image. For example, the lines, shadows, light and texture that fills up the space.

Furthermore, Singh does not use much outdoor scenes – not even through the window. In this particular image, you see a Japanese style interior with the sliding door and wooden interior with shadows coming from outside; that seem to resemble bunches of leaves on a tree. However, as your eyes move to the window, rather than seeing a natural scenery, an industrial cemented wall blocks the view. The fact that you do not see any natural habitat or outdoor scenery, implies loneliness and isolation. Suggesting a disconnect from the outside world – perhaps reflecting the artists’ emotion.

Barbican Art Gallery had an exhibition on the theme ‘Vulgarity’ challenging the idea of bad taste in fashion. Inviting the visitor to think again about exactly what makes something vulgar and why it is such a sensitive and contested term. The idea of vulgarity in the exhibition is our main inspiration for our magazine as we also want our readers to look through our images and decide themselves if its vulgar or just a form of art.

I think what makes the garment ‘Vulgar’ is the fact that people won’t actually wear the garments as everyday clothing. All garments are quite flamboyant and ‘out there’ and its definitely for people who was a lot of confidence to be able to pull off the looks.

I’ve really been into natural dyeing lately after learning about the environmental impacts of chemical dyes and so on. I thought of dyeing some fabrics myself and so I experimented on coffee to dye with. I was trying to get different results by leaving the piece of fabric longer than others and of course the longer it’s in the dye bath the more intense the colour is.

I was initially researching natural dyes and I came across an image of a fabric printed with actual flowers using a hammer and I looked for tutorials on online and conducted the experiment myself. I got myself some flowers and started arranging them on a fabric then putting tape on top to secure it in place.I didn’t have a hammer so I used anything I can from what I had to pound the flowers on to the fabric. And these were the results. It didn’t really transfer onto my fabric well but that’s probably because of what I used to hammer.  I was imagining the colours to be a little bit more vibrant but overall it was a fun little experiment.

Faustine Steinmetz creates basic garments that we wear on a day to day basis but with a difference. Her team spin, dye and weave recycled denim to make their own fabrics with each garment made by hand. She makes it her own and remake them into unique pieces. She says in an interview, “A great piece of clothing without a vision will never be anything more than a piece of clothing”. Faustine also has a sustainability core concept in her brand.

She treats her garments as an art piece- object. That’s why she never presents her collection on a runway and rather have a small exhibition/presentation format so that she can be even more creative with how she presents like the one above, the garment is hung with a simple, straightforward information beside it. Below was her SS16 presentation where the models are ‘coming through the wall’ .

As we delved ourselves in technology throughout these years, we often forget our beautiful planet that is on the brink. With all the catastrophes happening around the world, it becomes clear to us that we are responsible for these environmental impacts and that it is time to care for our planet.

With cameras everywhere on the streets and the introduction of having a small chip inside us, the question starts to haunt us whether we still have privacy and security. Below is a fashion film by photographer Nick Knight. It features footage from security cameras and presenting Kate Moss as she does her daily routine. Watching it like in a stalker’s perspective.

For the styling workshop I wanted to take inspiration from construction workers uniform. Taking colour ideas from the hi-vis garments, brightly coloured caution tapes etc. As I don’t have hi-vis clothing for the workshop, I plan on buying hi-vis tape and use it to create stripes of neon coloured tape onto the clothes.