After Outcome Review

Since handing in my piece I feel really proud of this outcome. Our brief was to create something that took an object from the Wellcome Collection and reimagine it into a wearable piece that resonated with the past whilst thinking about the future which was in my case jewellery. I really like that I immediately thought outside the box and didn't think about doing a more conventional piece of jewellery. I also think it was really well thought through, and when I came to a problem I found logical solutions to sidesteps or go over the issue rather than fixate on them. I was buzzing with pride when I thought about included the silver clay in my project and by pushing the side of the clay out I had accounted for shrinkage and warping so the piece still did fit the contours of my teeth. However the problem came when I tried to attach the silver wire onto the silver clay. Because of its almost resin like qualities it doesn't actually solder to other silver meaning I could no longer make my finished product as planned. I I wanted to I could make my piece again and use around 4 times as much as material however due to both time and budget contraights I decided to find a different methods then using silver clay or lost wax casting.

After a re-think I thought back to my myriad of practices and how each of them had worked really well through the use of plastics. Part of my reframe the past project was how women in the 1800's could've worn something like it as they (as debutants) were forced to sit and smile through anything in the same way that they wore corsets to appeal to the outer audience. This was also why I wanted to make the piece out of silver, thinking that if women would've had access to a tool like this they would've used high quality materials that wouldn't rust in the mouth and could still show status. However by rethinking my scenario I made my final piece from polymorph plastic because it fit my brief still and also embraced modern methods to my them. Similar to how rugby mouthguards are made I could imagine women as having these plastic moulds and biting them to fit their mouth rather than them being tailored made.

I still included the link to the tongue piercing and how women hurt themselves for beauty and ways to express personality as this was also like a chain holding me to wear the art and limiting my speech whilst looking perfect externally.

In short over Reframe the past I have looked at women over time and the expectation that are held over us whilst ignoring our struggles. I wanted to make a piece that represented our silence, demonstrated misunderstood pain and a pathological need to feel perfect from a society that will never deem us as so. I wanted to show the wealth and power that women could experience but also from a legal standpoint never actually had, and I feel as thought I fit both the written brief and my own expectations about the project. I learnt many technical skills throughout these two weeks through both demos and spending time in the workshop, as well as taking initiative like visiting the Wellcome Collection for a 2nd time to gather more contextual research and a better understanding about certain pieces.

I if was given the experience to do again I would probably look into lost wax casting as I feel as though this would open up a new avenue so I could stuck with my original plan rather then a new response.

I am also pleased with how my final photos came out, I feel like a the capture the rage but also still beauty needed to show what this piece truly was: not a useful tool to provide and consistent elegant smile but a repressive device that limits women whilst still making us appeal to others even when crying.

Reframe the Past - Reflections

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