‘PROJECT.3056’ was a research studio that looked to conceptual modes of performance and mapping for the area of Brunswick (where campus was located). The lead direction I took with this research studio was Vigilance In Waiting, which looked to explore queer-femme visibility in public spaces and the surveillance surrounding identity performance and performativity. 

I was inspired by personal and shared experiences of unprovoked assaults and harassments in public spaces in cases of queer representation. There are long standing implications from these incidences, including a heightened sense of vigilance and self-policing agency as a means of preventing further incidences. I spent a lot of my research looking to the curation of safe spaces that would enable the individual to freely, wholly and honestly explore a queer aesthetic and more importantly - theorising what that would look like.

The collection of garments have been designed through an 18th century Victorian understanding of dress for the trotteur - a series of garments calculated to flatter the form and serve the needs of a day out. Thierry Mugler described these garments as a ‘city suit’ for his muglerienne. The garments are layered and spread across three bodies though they can also be condensed onto one, signifying choice for the individual rather than a hegemonic notion of dress and the related garments. Techniques included embossed leather through laser cutting then hand painting, steel-boned corsetry and laced seams.

Brunswick is a city that inhabits a vast array of identities and the concept that underpins this collection is curating safe spaces for identity performance and performativity without fear of persecution, harassment or compromise. This body of work is dedicated to these queer-femme identities and the acknowledgment and fight for visibility, respect and acceptance.