Whilst visiting London/Horley recently, the Churchills and I visited the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill before our own exhibition in Bermondsey. I had previously visited the museum back in June 2010 with Katie but the particular draws this time were the current temporary exhibition 'The Body Adorned: Dressing London' and the fact it was Katie's birthday! As the title of the exhibition suggests both body adornment and body modification were the focus, with a wide range of each on display and all of it captivated me especially the headwear but also the full outfits and garments, such as the seal gut parka. What was (unsurprisingly) immediately noticeable to me was the abundance of animal based adornment and by that I mean both the actual use of animal parts for decoration or just as an influence on patterns etc. This was no end of inspiration and again reaffirms the importance of nature in anthropology as all the cultures of all continents can be historically united through flora and fauna. The traditional half to the exhibition is intended as a window into London's evolution of body adornment and how Londoners originally learnt of and viewed the vast range of peoples dressing the body around the world, though as contemporary viewers we can now identify much of this as politically incorrect or racist. However, past the horn bill headdresses, kimono and puffer fish/coconut attire, we are presented with contemporary London and the dressing habits therein. You can also find one large screen in front of four smaller ones, each playing a looped video of a static people on various London streets and most of which are accompanied by a vox pop on their outlook of the way they dress. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and found it very insightful, especially through its intention of encouraging visitors to really think about clothing and all the other aspects of how we present and define our own image.
'Ultimately we invite you to look at how you dress your body and why.'
Images by KLV
'The exhibtion features a specially commissioned film by the innovative, internationally renowned filmmakers and designers The Light Surgeons.'
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