(Pic: “Girl in the Orange Dress", oil on canvas)Opening on October 4 at artSPACE Durban is an exhibition by Steve Mandy titled We Are What We Wear, We Wear What We Want To Be.
The concept of Mandy's work revolves around fashion, its idiosyncrasies, its flaws, its sexual messages, its positives, negatives, its influence, its indulgence. It portrays a society’s views, perceptions and culture at a particular juncture in time.
It deals with the idea that “we are what we wear”, and “we wear what we want to be”. A thread takes a long journey before it becomes a tee shirt – a tee shirt takes a long journey before it becomes a cleaning rag. Somewhere in between, it has been carefully chosen to portray a self-styled and very individual image delivering powerful subliminal messages and clues about the wearer.
In this exhibition Mandy explores the choices we make, why we make them, emphasizing the dictation from the subconscious mind.
Steve Mandy tripped into the fashion world. It was by chance that he painted tee shirts to promote his art. It was by chance that this led to him painting the winning garments for the J&B Met two years running. As an outsider to the fashion industry he has watched some of South Africa’s best fashion designers plying their trade, searching to discover the irresistible design. It has been with utmost fascination that he has been a voyeur in an industry full of glamour, frustration, creation and dedication.
We Are What We Wear, We Wear What We Want To Be will be a fashion story board of Steve Mandy’s experiences. It runs at artSPACE Durban from October 4 to 16.