Extra/Ordinary Dress Code: Costuming and the Second Skin in Asia
By
way of academic and artistic endeavors Extra/Ordinary Dress Code
explores local and global fashion and sub-cultural style - Focusing on
modes of dress, aesthetic trends and cultural politics – Reflecting on
gender, age, sexuality, lived experience, consumer habits and the ways
a material commodity is integral to the creative industries –
1.
A CONFERENCE held at City University of Hong Kong on December 8,9,10,
2009 with invited international scholars and artists, such as
Vicky Karaminas, Louise Bak, and
Hazel Clark.
The conference takes a critical look at fashion in relation to the
local and global histories of clothing, styles of appearance and
dressing-up, the semiotics of mainstream society and deviant
sub-cultures.
2. A GALLERY SHOW at
Videotage
on December 10, 2009 exhibiting a COLLABORATIVE PHOTO PROJECT
documenting the everyday dress of the people of Hong Kong by way of
full body size photos printed and exhibited on roll-up banners and A4
size prints. Models include a wide spectrum of Hong Kong types and
lifestyles; ALSO the fantasy costuming of four local Cosplayers, along
with live appearances by our "street models" and "Cosplayers” (not
exactly a "catwalk", but most definitely a live interaction).
3.
A CABARET style event, at the opening of the Videotage exhibition on
December 10, 2009 inviting a mix of artists and academics to explain
“fashion” as it stands right now within their lives and practices.
Confirmed participants include Betty and Abby of
Les Peches, Toronto based poet
Louise Bak, Taiwanese filmmaker Mia Chen, and Viennese performance artist Nina Jaeger.
4. A GROUP SHOW at
The White Tube Gallery,
Hong Kong Art Center in November/December 2009, exhibiting a juried
selection of four different semester’s work from the SPEED Digital
Imaging course at the Hong Kong Art School. Students were required to
create an alternate or "fake" identity using themselves as the model,
and Digital Imaging as their form.
