Dance of the serpent

by Roxana Andronache

London UK

I was inspired by the erotic imagery of Jupiter in Hendrick Goltzuis: Jupiter and Antiope that led me to research the relationship between Eve and the serpent and society’s perceptions of women.  Due to the fall of Eve, women have been associated with serpents ever since.

"The Fallen Woman" by Linda Nochlin has inspired me to explore the idea of redemption represented by "shedding of skin". 

Name: Roxana Andronache, 
Fashion and Textiles: textiles 2
Project Name: " The dance of the Serpent"

Outline ideas behind your work:

I was inspired by the erotic imagery of Jupiter in Hendrick Goltzuis: Jupiter and
Antiope that led me to research the relationship between Eve and the serpent and 
society’s perceptions of women.  Due to the fall of Eve, women have been associated
with serpents ever since.

"The Fallen Woman" by Linda Nochlin has inspired me to explore the idea of redemption represented by "shedding of skin". 

What are your intentions for your work? 
Pupose:
The purpose for my garment is to act like a second skin on the body the same way 
clothes are. 
Due to the lockdown my plans had changed, as the original idea was to create a 
layered body suit with a heavy dress on top that you can distroy/ rip out to then 
show the layer undeneath which is the body suit with snakeline textures and beads and perls. Also the bosysuit was meant to be made out of pearls but due to the pandemic 
i was never able to buy some.
It took a really long time to make all the details on the top and so i was also
 planning on doing some apliche work on with beards and embroidery to create a lot of 
textures and layers. 
I have been able to experiment with the top part of the garment to design a lot of 
alternative ideas for the bottom half. 

Audience- who is it for? Who is your muse? If you have made a series of samples or stand alone pieces? 
My muse is Eve and the serpent and Jupiter in Hendrick Goltzuis: Jupiter and Antiope.
The painting inspired me to look more into the sexual nature of women which has 
led me into exploring the idea of the innocent and whore dichtonomy. I have also 
linked the redemtion process to "shedding" as an imagery to sin and redemtion
like "shedding from sin".
The audience that would best fit the collection would be 20s-30s year old girls as 
they best represent the innocent aesthetic. I can imagine this garment to be worn on the red carpet as it is very excentric and it would capture the attention like for 
example miley Cirus would best represt the garment as she is a strong individual and 
it reminds me of the 2013 Grammy's scene that she caused. 
The garment can also be altered to fit an evening event. 

What gallery:
I would see my garment best showcased in a theatrical performance as it would look 
lovely as the model would move around and the garment and her body mold into one, as 
afterall my thought process for this garment was for it to act like a second skin.
I can imagine if I had a show based on the idea of eve and the snake, the set would 
be outside as I was also inspired by nature and would be decorated to look like the
 garden of Eden with snakes wondering around. And the people can walk around as they 
look at the models do the snake dance and as they mimic the snakes around the room.
I would also play verses from the bible that talk about the sensual/sexual nature 
on the background to create the overall atmosphere. 
I can also imagine a dance performance on film, where the model wearing the garment 
is in a snake pit and dances around and people can look down into the snake pit to 
see the performance which later on can be a catwalk. 

How has the project changed/ evolved since the lockdown from that you initially 
proposed?
My initial idea, as I mentioned before was to make a 2 layers garment where the first layer can be ripped off to then be able to see the secong layer which is a bodysuit 
made out of pearls and a lot of knitten pieces that i would drape on the body. Due to the lockdown I was short of materials and so I had to work with what i had arounf my 
house like calico and wool thread and some beads and knitted samples I have made.
I was still able to keep the color pallete which consists of creams, gold and black.
 But as i had a lot of research i could use as inspiration it was easy to still create 
the bodysuit. The design has definetly changed as i went from two layers to one. And i have also added a skirt on top and the trousers as i didn't have a model to drape on i had to use myself and it was. abit more challanging. I was still able to layer 
fabrics but it was more subtile which i think worked a lot better than the 2 
different layeres idea. 

What did you learn from having to adapt your project and initial design ideas - 
working with significant restrictions? Eg Using different materials that are 
available to you now. 100 words

I have learned to experiment more as I wasn't able to use the materials I planned to make my garment out of. 
I think it is imporant to be prepared, as i didn't buy my fabrics before the lockdown I could've been able to still make my garment as I planned, but I think it has been 
even better to learn to addapt and explore different possibilities. I would've never guessed that I could create something to introcate and to make calico look
 expensive as I did with this garment. Due to the pandemic, I had to also learn to 
plan my time to be able to develop my work properly.

What impact if any has the current situation and working in isolation had on your work. Has it made you think differently about the purpose and meaning of your project?

I think overall working in isolation has made it hard for me to work and to plan my 
time. Because I am so used to working in my own space at Uni or the library, he has
 made it difficult for me to be able to develop work as I had to work while my 
parents were at home and I got distracted by them most of the time. But also I was 
able to focus after the one week break that I took which has helped me develop my 
work properly and to have a stronger understanding of the project and it’s purpose. 
As I have mentioned before I was planning on draping the trousers on the model and 
so not being able to work with one, I had to use myself because I wanted to use the 
knitted pieces to create the trousers.

Publication evaluation 

At the end of the project I was able to make a bodysuit. I can say that due to the pandemic my thought process was slower and and I wasn’t able to create a full detailed garment as I hoped. I got the base as much as I could but I know that if I was in the right set of mind I could’ve worked a lot more and the final garment would’ve been 
more detailed and embellished with beads and loops and embroidery details. because I was limited in resources I wasn’t able to create and develop my work properly. But I have learned to adapt and create my vision as close as possible to my initial idea by using materials taht I already had lying around which is why I could say that the 
bodysuit could have turned out better but I do think that the work that I have 
produced successfully captured my vision. I have experimented with the idea of the 
scales by re-creating small samples made out of calico and wool thread by looping and twisting the fabric to create small scale-like samples that I have sewed together 
and added embellishments like beads and embroidery on top. 
Overall I have captured the atmosphere and theme of the project well and I can say 
that due to the circumstances I have made a good outcome for this project.
In this final project I can see that I have defined and strengthened my skills and 
ideas since the start of the course. In this project I was able to fully commit to an idea and develop my work clearly and to get out of my comfort zone. I was able to 
show who I am as a designer and I have learned not only what areas I have to strengthen but also the ones that I’m really good at and who I am as an I visual and how 
I work best.

Friday 1st of May deadline 
Location: London

50 words ato describe what the project is about:

I was inspired by the erotic imagery of Jupiter in Hendrick Goltzuis: Jupiter and 
Antiope that led me to research the relationship between Eve and the serpent and 
society’s perceptions of women.  Due to the fall of Eve, women have been associated 
with serpents ever since. 

"The Fallen Woman" by Linda Nochlin has inspired me to explore the idea of redemption represented by "shedding of skin". 

And images to summarise my final project:

Hendrick Goltzuis 1558-1617- Jupiter and Antiope 

My first idea about what my fmp should be about was the 1800s gothic because one of my favourite books (dr Jekyll and mr Hyde) and the social aspects of the times. But when I was on my way to archway on Monday I saw a poster about The Baroque exhibition at Tate Britain and I thought about the droppings and the colours of the paintings like in the painting above. 

What I really like about the painting is the expressionism and freedom of the body and how its surrounded by usually fruits like grapes which this reminds me of Adam and Eve and how they were so connected the garden of Eden- nature.  This also makes me think about the opinions on body image and what is natural or not - like sexual orientation or social standards of the perfect woman. And how women have to shave, and coming from a religious background, I have been taught that I have to dress modestly. This painting make me question what modest is if our body is natural and its normal to be nude when you're a baby but not when you are an adult.l This also makes me think od sensuality and profanity. 

Draping ideas and garment details that I can use in my design development.

 lost and Found: Once More the Fallen Woman-linda nochlin

In an age when sexual innocence was highly valued and sex for a respectable woman was deemed appropriate only within marriage, the loss of chastity for an unwed woman had multiple repercussions. The figure of the ‘fallen’ woman was popularly portrayed in art, literature and the media as Victorian moralists warned against the consequences of losing one’s virtue.

This made me think of the idea of layering and maybe having a multi-layered garment where each layer has a different "feeling" and like the idea of shedding the skin, this could symbolize the idea of taking off "your skin" the layers are you repent and get closer to being holy. 

when I was thinking about what my FMP should be about I fist thought about the Dora Maar exhibition and I wanted to look at the victorian times, but then I discovered the Baroque exhibition at Tate modern and I thought right away abut the drapery and colors and the romantic aspect of the 1620s-1740s. 

I then decided to go to the National gallery first. What stood out to me was a piece by Hendrik Goltzuis (1558-1617) called Jupiter and Antope. And it was the sensual and interesting perception of love and sexuality. Antiope was disguised as satyr to seduce her when he creeps silently towards her bed. I love the vibrant colors and bold sculptural forms. I then thought about why is it okay for a "subject" to be naked in paintings and why nowadays that would be considered pornography or innapropriate if it was a scene in a film of a photoshoot. And so I really liked the drapery on her and when I did the Pairs project I looked at ..... and I liked the idea of "deciding" what you want to show what what you want to hide. Like for example she is revealing all her body when Antipe is the one thats hiding more by having some of his parts of the body hidden by the drapery. I want to explore the idea of sensuality and the female nature represented by this sexual desire men think women have. 

I then want to look at Adam and Eve because this painting reminded me of the scene when Eve wanted to partake of the fruit but Adam tried to stop her but she was "seduced" into sin by the snake. And it gave me the idea to explore the idea of sin and purity. 

This week I looked at The borogue. I liked the silhouettes and the drapery and I want to be able to do some drapery work. This week I mostly focused on research like the women in the baroque era and the victorian views on women based on Eve's action of eating the fruit. When I looked at Hendrick Goltzuis's work I loved how the women were naked and I thought about how as a Mormon I have different views on my values and my body. I also thought about this idea of human nature and the literal word "nature". and the connection between us and how we should go back into nature to repent. 

I started looking at the snake scales and then then I was looking into the life of Cleopatra 

When I looked into Cleopatra I found A movie about Cleopatra the queen of Egypt from 1963. When I looked into it I found a really interesting dress that Cleopatra was wearing with bird scales on top which then inspired me to create my own scales scales out of metal. When choosing the metal I want to work with I found these really interesting rotten pieces. I began by cutting pieces of paper to see the size that I want at the scales to be. After I’ve decided on the size I then began to contour the outline off the scales on the metal pieces to then be able to cut them up. The hard part was to somehow glue the pieces together so the scales can still move. 

I then found this metallic thread and i thought about the metal scales that i made. Also, it works really well with my color scheme. 

Do you see the lack of motivation I was not able to work properly and develop my work further. I was able to add some research today and I start looking into leprosy as 
the garment represents the second skin I looked into skin diseases. leprosy a skin disease made a person ritually  unclean and unable to enter the temple and in fact had to live in exile separated from the other people. 

I really liked the idea of creating a second skin from which then you physically rip out then gets the first layer. 

04/03/20

Today I went to a abstract draping workshop. 

Since I have been looking at Adam and Eve and especially Eve and her "relationship" with the snake and also when I looked at the Lost and Found: Once More the Fallen Woman-linda nochlin which talks about the process women have to go through to then go back into society and be seen again as innocent after they have sinned and I started thinking about the idea of "shedding from sin". I was inspired by the first picture which is by Jesef Anton Feuchtmayer and its called the virgin. The gesture of the left hand refers to the words of St Luke " messed is the body that bore thee, and the paps which though hast sucked". I really liked the the folding of the "fabric" and that made me think of using metal for my structure because if I could use metal sheets I could recreate the drapery on the sculpture and then I wold love to be able to drape on top of it with calico fabric to create more texture. 

Unfortunately, Chris said that we have to use this copper wire to create the structure. And so I started by trying to create the outline of the snake so then I can build it up by layers. I discovered that the wire is too thin to be able to make only one online and so I will have to make another one that intercross each other for it to not collapse. I then began by making the first outline and I had some ideas but I had to simplify them because they were too complex and so I decided for my snake to be bigger but more straight then having it curled. So I had to seal the wire for it not to come apart. After that I saw that the structures needed something to sustain them from the inside and so I thought of creating circles that I will put in between the structures inside to hold it together bette together. Also we only had an hour to make it but I managed to finish it but I think with a little more it could look more defined and it could hold the fabric better. 

I then began to place it on the body an to drape fabric on top. Because I was looking at the Baroque era I was inspired by the big puffy sleeves and so I started by placing the snake to create an interesting sleeve from it.

What I liked about this workshop is that I have learned to instead of restricting myself to the structure of the body and draping by fitting everything on it I was able to add new shapes and allow myself to play with the idea of how all body shapes are different and you shouldn't restrict yourself to a mannequin but experiment with structures and it I have created interesting shapes that I can take ideas and develop further. 

starting with 24/02/2020

I think one thing I have to do with my sketchbook is to allow myself to experiment more before I move on to the next idea. Between some pages, I left some space for my design development. I also have to experiment with my samples and then I will add the jewelry idea with the scales after I develop mt fashion designs first (initial ideas).

After this page, I have left some space for pages to be able to develop this idea further. I want to extract shapes from the sample on the left page and i want to develop it and experiment with materials and scale. 

After this page, I left a few pages for design development. Also, I want to put tracing paper on top to draw out details ( I want to make it clear what I see the shapes as) maybe like a sleeve or a jacket etc.