Satin and Tat

Rescued from the Beverley Hills home of a former Hollywood actress, and many other estate sales, Kim Wall has quietly collected an array of loved, worn, cherished evening gloves.

Wall spent her pandemic lockdown hours playing with, and dissecting, her vast collection of treasured textiles.  Despite the loneliness and monotony of the lockdown weeks (years), what is evident here is the sheer delight Wall had cutting, sewing, stuffing, and lovingly embellishing these bulbous forms with embroidery thread and ‘costume’ jewellery (from her late Grandmother).  Allowing herself to step away from her comfort zone of precision sewing, Wall lets fly with crazy exaggerated stitching and wild protuberances.

These satiny, stretchy, lumpy bodily forms are a wilful play on gender and identity with a touch of the camp, and a nod to 70s glam.

In this series, Wall pays homage to her beloved grandmother and their shared passion for skilled tailoring, dressmaking and glamour.

She’s so swishy in her satin and tat
In her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat…
David Bowie – Queen Bitch