Pinafores
objects, action, performance

Pinafores are made of an oil cloth. They are inexpensive, easy to keep clean, water-proof, and everything washes off them. Their appearance is reminiscent of summer dresses. They are also sexy, hence attractive to men. Pinafore is the universal uotfit of the housewife. A woman wearing a pinafore can fulfill culturally imposed functions: mother, wife, lover. A pinafore is an apparel that – using a special pattern designed especially by the artist – can easily be manufactured by its prospective wearer.

Elisabeth Grosz discusses repetitive activities and domestic slavery in the context of the philosophy of Plato. The woman of Grosz has the status of the Platonic Chora, the one that helps come into the world but she is not the “mother”. Just a tunnel through which everything passes, a midwife of thoughts and all beings. Chora is something resembling the uterus but at the same time she is not the mother of what is produced, she is a being/ not being, however, having many of the characteristics of women.

This subject is highly visible in my Pinafores where the tempting oilcloth dresses are really a criticism of standards imposed on women by patriarchy. Disagreement to reduce them to sex objects enclosed in the space of home where they are not only to serve everyday life but also look atractive at the same time without losing their charm even when washing floors.
Pinafores were presented by ten roller-skating girls during the main exhibition “novart.pl Festival of Young Art: look at me/spójrz na mnie”. The exhibition took place in a market hall; the girls were a mobile display.