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Laura HayleyLaura Hayley is a British multidisciplinary artist working on Gadigal land out of her flat on the North Shore.
Her artworks question the comfort of the familiar by building subtly surreal everyday objects from materials of domestic life, exposing the absurdity of social norms. Her ceramic vessels merge items of domesticity with symbols of femininity, contemplating the connotations of the female form. |
Artists Statement
And now I'm dressed like a little girl, in a dress both loose and short, Oh with what freedom I can sing, and walk all 'round about! And when I get a little strength, some work I think I can do, 'Twill give me health and comfort, and make me useful too.
— The Sibyl magazine, April 15, 1859
I developed the series "Bloomers" as a way to express the absurd, harmful contradictory language in which I have seen and experienced the categorisation and criticism of women based on appearance.
I choose to use white ceramics to build vases that emulate the puffed trouser legs of bloomer garments.
At the time of invention in the 1800's bloomers were considered a scandalous item of clothing. They allowed for novel, unrestricted movement of the female body that was so used to suffocating corsets and stiff petticoats. Bloomers allowed women to move with greater comfort within the public sphere.
This freedom lead bloomers to become a symbol of the feminist movement - the garment was even named for American women's right activist Amelia Bloomer. The women who advocated for the adoption of the bloomer into everyday wear were the women advocating for their health and their freedom to choose how they wished to present.
Despite views of bloomers as a means to better the health and social view of women, contradicting reports argued that the bloomer kept women modest and lady-like, the church deemed them a threat against male authority and even some feminists also took a stance against bloomers. They claimed that the following of fashion trends were the exact stereotypes against which they fought.
These vastly contradicting public arguments and thus perceptions of women is just one example of the ways in which personal appearance its tugged at by public ideals of morality, class, beauty, health and politics of a woman.
The vases I have hand built act as a retelling of the story of the bloomer as a means to link the history of the notion that the female body must fall into a binary: useful or ornamental.
One aspect of these works are functional. Presented with flowers, they are vessels made for use within the home. They are useful and domestic - characteristics I have often seen used to describe women.
Another aspect is their sculptural form. The vases unusually resemble clothing and are humanised with the presence of pairs of legs sprawling awkwardly upwards from the trouser openings. These legs are a surreal addition to what is expected of a functional, household item. This subversion questions our comfort with the lingering prejudices within us from history.
Their frilliness and clumsiness bring to light the harmful infantilisation of women's intelligence based on their femininity. This two dimensional view of the woman is so often sexualised in media and in life so I used the sprawling legs to reference the old joke that comments on transactional sex and gender expectations:
"He bought me a bouquet of flowers so I guess I have to spread my legs now."
"Why? Don't you have a vase?"
These dual purposed pieces asks audiences to consider the piece functional or decorative. They may also choose to view them as both. This puts them into the position of the public as it views the female body. Anyone who ones these vases must make their preference and judgement and decide, ever-changing, how they'd like to perceive the vase on any given day.
Ultimately, my intention is that "Bloomers" may act as an acknowledgement that our gender biases are informed so greatly yet often so subconsciously by our past. It takes such a conscious, daily effort to unlearn them and I'm not yet sure how I'm going to dispel them completely.
— The Sibyl magazine, April 15, 1859
I developed the series "Bloomers" as a way to express the absurd, harmful contradictory language in which I have seen and experienced the categorisation and criticism of women based on appearance.
I choose to use white ceramics to build vases that emulate the puffed trouser legs of bloomer garments.
At the time of invention in the 1800's bloomers were considered a scandalous item of clothing. They allowed for novel, unrestricted movement of the female body that was so used to suffocating corsets and stiff petticoats. Bloomers allowed women to move with greater comfort within the public sphere.
This freedom lead bloomers to become a symbol of the feminist movement - the garment was even named for American women's right activist Amelia Bloomer. The women who advocated for the adoption of the bloomer into everyday wear were the women advocating for their health and their freedom to choose how they wished to present.
Despite views of bloomers as a means to better the health and social view of women, contradicting reports argued that the bloomer kept women modest and lady-like, the church deemed them a threat against male authority and even some feminists also took a stance against bloomers. They claimed that the following of fashion trends were the exact stereotypes against which they fought.
These vastly contradicting public arguments and thus perceptions of women is just one example of the ways in which personal appearance its tugged at by public ideals of morality, class, beauty, health and politics of a woman.
The vases I have hand built act as a retelling of the story of the bloomer as a means to link the history of the notion that the female body must fall into a binary: useful or ornamental.
One aspect of these works are functional. Presented with flowers, they are vessels made for use within the home. They are useful and domestic - characteristics I have often seen used to describe women.
Another aspect is their sculptural form. The vases unusually resemble clothing and are humanised with the presence of pairs of legs sprawling awkwardly upwards from the trouser openings. These legs are a surreal addition to what is expected of a functional, household item. This subversion questions our comfort with the lingering prejudices within us from history.
Their frilliness and clumsiness bring to light the harmful infantilisation of women's intelligence based on their femininity. This two dimensional view of the woman is so often sexualised in media and in life so I used the sprawling legs to reference the old joke that comments on transactional sex and gender expectations:
"He bought me a bouquet of flowers so I guess I have to spread my legs now."
"Why? Don't you have a vase?"
These dual purposed pieces asks audiences to consider the piece functional or decorative. They may also choose to view them as both. This puts them into the position of the public as it views the female body. Anyone who ones these vases must make their preference and judgement and decide, ever-changing, how they'd like to perceive the vase on any given day.
Ultimately, my intention is that "Bloomers" may act as an acknowledgement that our gender biases are informed so greatly yet often so subconsciously by our past. It takes such a conscious, daily effort to unlearn them and I'm not yet sure how I'm going to dispel them completely.
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"Bloomers" 2020 Laura Hayley Snow White Earthenware 22.5 x 8 x 8 |
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"Guts for Garters" 2020 Laura Hayley Snow White Earthenware 19 x 6 x 6 |
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"Short and Frilly" 2020
Laura Hayley Snow White Earthenware 18 x 8 x 4 |
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"Modesty" 2020 Laura Hayley Snow White Earthenware 27 x 12 x 7 |
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"Cut Off At The Knee" 2020 Laura Hayley Snow White Earthenware 8 x 8 x 7 |
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"From Such a Young Age" 2020 Laura Hayley Snow White Earthenware 14 x 4 x 3 |
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"Why? Don't You Have A Vase?" 2020 Laura Hayley Snow White Earthenware 12 x 5 x 5 |
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We would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people who are the Traditional Custodians of this land. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders past, present and emerging of the Eora Nation and extend that respect to other Aboriginals present.
Sovereignty was never ceded. |