What is Redefine?
The project is a group exhibition of 4 young contemporary artists evoking the reinterpretation of a classic black dress (simple sleeveless, scoop cocktail dress a la Audrey Hepburn), with regard to the artist’s perspective. Conceptualized and managed by a curatorial team from the Ateneo de Manila University, It will feature a variety of traditional and contemporary media and the artworks will range in size as well.
In taking something as iconic as the ‘Little Black Dress’ the artists delve into what lies behind the general knowledge of the item to somehow discern something new, something surprising, whether it be in the realm of the utility of the black dress or the metaphorical meaning of the black dress qualified in personal perspectives, or even social perspectives.
The purpose of the exhibition is, fundamentally, to show the movement of the creative process through the process of reinterpretation. Reinterpretation aids many creative ventures such as music, film, literature, fashion and the visual arts. Music in particular is one of the art forms where reinterpretation and reinvention occurs, through the practice of “cover songs”. Many contemporary musicians have found inspiration through “throw backs” of older songs, revamping them to suit their own sound and coming up with something that is ultimately, completely of their artistic doing.
There is an added challenge in reinterpreting what is already considered as classic and timeless. In doing so, the exhibition aims to push boundaries on what an object is already widely known as. There is more that meets the eye in most things, and things sometimes have a way of exceeding what they are at face value- sometimes, a dress is not just a dress.
