Artist decks the folk of Bloemfontein out in 600 technicolour onesies
Melbourne-based artist, fashion designer and creative Adele Varcoe recently visited Bloemfontein to take part in a public arts programme as part of the Free State Arts Festival.
Varcoe is interested in how fashion affects our perceptions of each other and her art brings people together in participatory performances to explore the social notions of fashion and art.
"I'm trained as a fashion designer. I did my undergraduate and my PhD in fashion, but how it became to be positioned more in an art context is my interest in how fashion can affect social interaction," she said.
BLOEMFONTEIN BLOOMS
Through her participatory art performances, Varcoe tries to show the impact that clothes have on our everyday lives.
At the festival, Varcoe and her team of volunteers sewed 600 onesies in all shapes and sizes to hand out to the crowds at Hoffmann Square. You were required to sign a contract and vow to only take the onesie off when you went to bed.
The public, donned in onesies with a design by local artist Ndukenhle Mpanza, danced to the beats of the Sewing Machine Orchestra, which performed three times that day.
Six hundred onesies were distributed in one hour, and Bloemfontein's Hoffman Square was a colourful sight to behold...
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