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The corset is still in use, physically moulding the body to
fit a notion of beauty. Vantage looks at this antiquated undergarment.
IS there still the perception that corsets are used to mould
women into a male fixed notion of beauty?
Musha Neluheni's exhibition Vantage is on at the Johannesburg Art Gallery
The Johannesburg
Art Gallery
will be looking for answers to the contradictions around corsetry from 1 July
to 27 September in its exhibition, Vantage.
People often think of corsets as antiquated, particularly
European female underwear that have no local relevance. However, corsets today are
used by men and women in sport, medicine, fashion and theatre.
According to artist Musha Neluheni, the typical
understanding of corsets as constricting, controlling and restricting still
exists; nevertheless, they can be used by the wearer to create desire.
"If the gaze is fundamentally male or, to see it another
way, women are the subject of the gaze, one can explore constructing a room for
the ‘gazer' and one for the subject of that gaze."
Neluheni says this initiates a dynamic interplay between
control and freedom, male and female, and sight and gaze that set up a
challenging vantage point for the viewer.
Turning tables
"With this show ... I'm turning the tables a little by placing
men in corsets. In art history what we call the ‘gaze' is essentially male. We
see this in many historical paintings of nude women in which woman are placed
as the object of this male gaze. What I'm doing in these photographs is
offering a different vantage point in which the object of the gaze is male."
A freelance curator who curates her own shows, Neluheni's
work started in fashion and cosmetic corsetry. However, the JAG show is not
about fashion object, but rather what that object represents.
The idea in the show is to draw the viewer in through
beautiful satin corsets, but by doing this, the viewer becomes uncomfortable because
the pictures invade his or her private space, she explains.
"By giving the works titles such as Strip me down and Tie me
up, the viewer realises he is in an intimate space. The power is then given to
the woman as she is, in a sense, saying these titles."
The exhibition opens on 30 June and runs until 27 September.
The Johannesburg Art
Gallery is in Joubert Park,
with its entrance in King George
Street off Wolmarans or Smith streets. Entrance is
free. It is open from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10am to 5pm.
For more information, phone the gallery on 011 725 3130.
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