Vacuum seal garment bag, Cotton shirt, Rivets, Simulated evidence bag containing a shattered glass bottle
23 3/5 × 57 1/10 in | 60 × 145 cm
Inside this bag, is a dress, made of two tank tops sewn together at the ends to make a dress, here it is in its flipped up (double shirt) state, making it convertible. I remember once an older male family member reacted negatively when I told him I had worn a dress, but eased up when I told him that it was for a performance, and that part stuck with me most. The idea that any deviation from gender norms was essentially just a performance.,
So I have this dress sealed in this bag, with an opening cut so it can be worn over the head as an apron or on the shoulder like a shoulder bag
The idea being how can I mantle this idea, this part of myself, how can I “wear this dress” without actually wearing it, to express this aspect of the self in a more covert way was needed, as It’s still not completely safe to openly display a gender queer identity.
The small simulated evidence bag in the lower corner contains a shattered glass bottle, the bottle was filled with tea, wrapped in the dress and smashed, released the tea and dying the shirt as a result.