Aware

Through clothing, we celebrate or suppress identity, indicate allegiances and communicate our positions, aspirations and desires. Little wonder, then, that so many contemporary artists are invested in exploring the role of clothing in the construction of self and society. Aware: Art Fashion Identity reflects on these artists and their work, and what it says about our physical covering and our constructed personal environments. Essayists Gabi Scardi, Lucy Orta and Joanne Entwistle consider issues of belonging, nationality, displacement and political and social confrontation in the artwork of Yinka Shonibare, Sharif Waked, Alicia Framis, Meschac Gaba, Dai Rees and Vito Acconci. Personal accounts of the role of clothing are drawn out through the work of Helen Storey, Marie-Ange Guilleminot and Claudia Losi, while the art and designs of Hussein Chalayan, Gillian Wearing and Andreas Gursky offer a platform for a discussion of the connection between fashion, clothing and performance.