BODYWRAPPInc. -a fashion-installation by Annette Meyer / New York, Rotterdam, Tokyo. 4 collections of clothing objects made of disposable wrapping material from Asia, Europe and North America; BodyEmballage, Costumes, BODYWRAPPInc NY, RAIN™. BODYWRAPPInc is based on a fascination by the similarities between consumption packagings and fashion clothing. Both products are meant to communicate the subject/object it wraps and in both cases the cultural identity and nationality of the content is evident from the surface lay out. I want to provoke reflections by creating an ambiguity between the familiar and the alien. On the one hand the conservative cut of the business suit or the traditional form of the mans shirt are most familiar in tailoring, on the other the disposable material is a totally alien feature in this context. Out of context the wrapping materials takes on a different meaning and expression. The Sign Body Emballage The Body Emballage project made in 1996 was the first collection Annette Meyer did, using wrapping materials for clothing objects. This collection was the beginning of a series of experiments dressing the body in the graphic language of disposable materials. The paper materials from the 3 countries represented in Body Emballage was later expanded to include paper and plastic materials from several other Asian, European and North American countries. The special soft texture of the paper shirts is achieved by crumpling and ironing it repeatedly. The result is very comfortable to the touch and to the ear. The visual impression is fragile and delicate. In spite of the qualities of the material it is not suitable for mass production as the durability is not unlimited. THE EXPERIENCE Annette Meyer on BODYWRAPPInc.: I want to create pleasant, sensuous experiences at the same time as making a cultural statement. It's the beauty and aesthetic qualities of a material normally not included among the canon of high couture that matters to me. Everybody knows the qualities of silk, but potatochips-printed plastic and paper wrapping has a potential of it's own for creating a distinctive atmosphere and sensuous effect. BODYWRAPPInc is based on a fascination by the similarities between consumption packagings and fashion clothing. Both products are meant to communicate the subject/object it wraps and in both cases the cultural identity and nationality of the content is evident from the surface lay out. I want to provoke reflections by creating an ambiguity between the familiar and the alien. On the one hand the conservative cut of the business suit or the traditional form of the mans shirt are most familiar in tailoring, on the other the disposable material is a totally alien feature in this context. Out of context the wrapping materials takes on a different meaning and expression. Costumes The performance was a collaboration between Hotel Proforma, the Japanese performance group Dumb Type and American architects Diller and Scofidio. The art of the performance group is based on visual imagery for a large part. The costumes are therefor an integrated part of the living images on stage. The colour, form and sound of the plastic and paper materials of the costumes played a part, and the fact that the material was a consumer product related the clothing to the theme of mass consumption, dominant in the performance. The cuts of the costumes quotes the traditional shapes of Western tailoring, like the business suit, the classical man's shirt, and pleating skirt. The Exhibition The videoprojection of models walking through city streets wearing the BODYWRAPPInc. NY collection, brings the city into the exhibition space. The video shows people wearing the clothes on the body as a background to the experience of the collection as objects for contemplation. The digital compositions by Toru Yamanaka fills the rooms with supermarket music, to accomodate the consumer theme, and sound collages of saxophone music by Torben Snekkerstad. BODYWRAPPInc. NY Within the gallery space one hundred business suits, made out of disposable plastic packaging was floating on wires stretched between the ceiling and the pink floor. The disposable packaging used for the suits originates from three continents: Europe, Asia and the United States. The reels of shiny new plastic materials was collected by Annette Meyer on supermarket visits around the world, and examples of product layouts from India, Japan, Denmark, England and The US could be found in this unique spring collection. The original suits from the BODYWRAPPInc. NY collection are for sale for 1000 USD ***euro**** for a complete three-piece suit. Each suit is numbered and signed by the artist. The suits come in three sizes for women and three sizes for men. Not two designs are the same. The plastic material of the suit is lined on the inside with pink edgings for women and babyblue for gentlemen. Durability is limited but prolonged if kept away from fire, sharp objects, and children. Interested buyers, please take advantage of the full figure measurement system applied on the wall, which is at your self-service in Japanese, European and American units of measurement. The measuring process is accompanied by music composed by dj Toru Yamanaka and, if you are lucky, the kind shopkeeping assistence of Annette Meyer herself: Do you need any help with that? THE EVENT On the opening day of the exhibition a number of models
walk the streets of the city each wearing an original BODYWRAPPInc. NY
designer suit made out of mass produced disposable wrapping. From different
starting When observed in the city each model seems to be an exotic and exceptional creature dressed in shiny, colorful bags of Ketchup Flavored Potatochips, Gopal Flavoured Chewing Tobacco or Creme Sandwich Cookies. Only the walking model knows that other models are simultaneously performing similar, but different, movable fashion shows wearing identical, but diverse, business suits. Arriving at the exhibition space, the models take off the suits and place them on hangers on the wires across the space. Ready to be sold as fashion or contemplated as art by the visitors. THE BODY Looking at an exhibition of one hundred tailormade suits,
each of them RAIN™ is a commercial, functional collection of unisex rainwear to satisfy the needs of people living and working in the city. This collection is based on the same patterns of wrapping materials as the previous collections, but with improved durability. The collection will include 4 different items. Raincoat, rainshirt, raintrousers and sou'wester. The collection will reflect different cultures through patterns, colours, statements and symbol while at the same time protecting the happy wearer from the rain like a potato chip in a plastic bag. THE PRODUCTION Capitalist society is a machinery geared for production
- physical and Did you know? * Potato chips make up 31% of all savory snacks sold! * The average American consumes 4 pounds of potato chips a year! * It takes 4 pounds of whole potatoes to make one pound of potato chips! * The Average 3 ounce potato yields 30 potato chips! Source: The No Preservatives Herr's 20 oz.Value Size Potato Chips Pants.
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