The Corset Sketchbook

The idea behind the corset is to articulate the place of woman in society and how society see's her and how "we" as women see ourselves.

Do we conform to stereotypes to be subservient to the male ego? Or do we impose these restrictions on ourselves as a need to be perceived as purely a decorative device?

I would like to work with my studio practice in machine knit to explore this idea firstly of oppression, suppression, restraint, constraint and tension. To use technical stitches and yarns to develop this impression through my work.

I want to utilise this language and the words that I have chosen to develop knitted samples that show the concept of the control within the corset.
 Then to take those samples to portray this idea of women's identity and what makes a physical impression of a woman. Is it just shape, colour or even texture that denotes the feminine gender? 

The starting point for this has to be the structure that all bodies are formed on, that is the "Skeleton". Its function to support the body, the underlying frame work. 

The corset is the external Skeleton, the exoskeleton. But not only does this framework support it constricts the body. This then becomes the equal to the outer skeleton of Crustacean.