“The Body Adorned: Dressing London” is Horniman Museum’s most recent free exhibition that explores the question of why we dress and adorn our bodies the way we do.
People in various cultures throughout history have expressed themselves through body adornments with different types of clothing, piercings, and tattoos that express an integral part of their cultures. The way we adorn our bodies is, and always has been, a form of identification, expression, and individuality.
The Horniman Museum collaborated with young Londoners, aged 14 to 17, to investigate the street styles of London by photographing individuals from this city. In such a diverse city, we find various styles of body adornment, and with each individual comes a different story, a different reason for dressing the way they do. The young task force explores this question of self-identification and expression by photographing, filming, and interviewing individuals about what factors influence the way they dress.
The exhibit explores both modern street style and the fashion of diverse cultures across many years in history. Next to the photographs of an urban, tattooed Londoner are African ritual adornments, and behind the photographs and films of various modern Londoners are traditional Japanese kimonos, beaded necklaces from Oceania, and Alaskan Inuit gut parkas. Right next to photographs of teenaged Londoner bedecked in owl tattoos and earlobe gauges are traditional Maori tattooing tools including wooden mallets with sharpened tips made of albatross bone.
The photographic portion of the exhibit consists of portraits of individuals on the streets of London. We see different styles, cultures, and personalities shine through these artfully captured photographs. They give us the eclectic mix of people we encounter on a daily basis in this diverse city.
The film portion of the exhibit by The Light Surgeons provides an interesting insight on specific individuals from the streets of London: a French girl wearing bright prints says it’s easier to dress in London because she feels more free to express her personality here than in France; a Muslim girl in a long dress and hijab says she prefers to dress for a divine cause; a man in a business suit wants to look professional in the workplace.
We also get to see specific outfits from peoples’ wardrobes with personal accounts explaining their reasons for dressing the way they do.
The Horniman Museum’s collection of stunning objects and clothing from various cultures over time adds an element of history and world awareness as we see the unique perspectives of different cultures’ religions, rituals, and cultural beliefs. It gives us insight into the minds of different ways of viewing the world and how people’s beliefs affect the way they adorn themselves.
In what ways do you choose to express your personality through your clothing? How much of an influence does society have on the way we dress?
A juxtaposition of individual styles and cultures, this exhibit ultimately makes you leave the exhibit asking yourself why you dress the way you do.
The Body Adorned at the Horniman Museum, 100 London Road, SE23, runs until 6 January 2013.
