Dressing Up, 2023.

Silk, metal mannequin. Cyanotype print.

Clothes can be used to project an image of ourselves out into the world. We can choose what to say and how we wish to present ourselves - or can we? How much do pressures from society and our yearning to ‘fit in’ impact on they way we present ourselves through clothes? How much does the way we dress reflect our inner picture or self-image?

In ‘Dressing Up’, Hannah has used cyanotype imagery based on the ‘Deconstructed Shirt’, creating a layered effect to suggest the different layers of our public and private image. Cyanotype is a photographic process, dating from the 1800’s, which uses UV light to create a permanent image on paper or textile. With this process, Hannah is able to capture the fine details of the garment, as a ghostly image reminiscent of an X-ray.

Between the layers of silk, a mannequin creates an entirely different body image, playing with perceptions of size and stereotypes of gender and identity. The whole piece plays with what we reveal and also our hidden image.

Deconstructed Shirt, 2023.

Vintage cotton shirt, silk organza, silk thread. Machine stitch and devoré print.

A man’s shirt is a much overlooked garment. Plain and seemingly simple, it acts as a generic ‘uniform’ or camouflage of conformity. We ‘read’ the shirt as masculine, formal, businesslike, appropriate. It helps both the wearer and those around them to understand their role. It has strength and power in its symbolism.

By deconstructing this vintage shirt, Hannah explores the way it is constructed; picking away at the different pieces, revealing seams and reinforcements that make a shirt work. Using devoré processes to destabilise the cotton fabric, she reveals the different layers and the tension between strength and fragility.

Both works were exhibited in Tailored, with The 62 Group at Sunny Bank Mill, Farsley, Leeds.