Art. Fashion. Identity.

The current exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, entitled "Aware: Art Fashion Identity" is a thought-provoking journey through the use of clothing as a mechanism of communication and displaying identity. The exhibition is comprised of four main areas: Storytelling, Building, Belonging and Confronting, and Performance.

Despite weak pieces in all four of the areas, each one adds an interesting dynamic to the use of clothing for expression. Storytelling explores the role of clothing in the representation of personal and cultural history. Building considers clothing from a more practical viewpoint, as a form of protection or shelter that can reflect the nomadic, portable nature of modern life. I found this section to be the weakest of them all, collating the pieces by often tenuous links to their 'category'. Belonging and Confronting added an interesting political dimension to the clothing, examining cultural and social traditions and tensions. Performance neatly ties the exhibition together to remind us that we all 'perform' through the clothing that we choose to wear, even if it does not resemble the fantastical pieces just seen. 

The Nomadic Mosque, created by Azra Aksamija

Faintly ridiculous, but amusing nonetheless, the Nomadic Mosque is an outfit that contains a portable prayer mat, complete with compass to ensure that the wearer faces quiblah. It is wearable architecture, and can rapidly transform a secular space into a place of worship. Although I am sure that it will remain conceptual, the idea provides an interesting voice for the place of religion within society. 

Cindy Sherman - Doll Clothes, 1975 - A dynamic exploration of gender and identity. 

Susie MacMurray, Widow, 2009

Deceptively made of black nappa leather and 43kg of adamantine dressmakers pins.

The dressmakers pin, a traditional symbol of the female role in many societies, is used here to portray a type of armour. It embodies both female vulnerability and female strength, beauty and function, elegance and ugliness. 

Marina Abramovich, Imponderabilia (1977) 

Abramovic's concept: "In a selected space. Naked we stand opposite each other in the museum entrance. The public entering the museum has to turn sideways to move through the limited space between us. Everyone wanting to get past has to choose one of us." Very awkward, very amusing, very telling about human nature. 

Gillian Wearing, 60 minute silence

60 Minute Silence, which won the 1997 Turner Prize, looks, on first glance, like a lifesize photograph of a collection of police officers. The realisation that the work is actually a video is pleasing, as you catch one of the police officers blinking or twitching. They attempt to remain still and quiet for the full hour, but the pressure to do so grows with time. Fidgeting and flexion appears to be contagious – sweeping through the line-up periodically. One officer, who commendably remains very still throughout, shrieks with joy when told that they have finished. The cathartic cry echoes through the whole gallery, eliciting many frightened expressions and a break in the silence of the gallery also. Brilliant. 

Stills from Sharif Waked’s 7-minute video, Chic Point: Fashion For Israeli Checkpoints

Palestinian-born Sharif Waked’s video cleverly and shockingly juxtaposes the enforced searching of men at military checkpoints, with the willing exposure of flesh by models in a fashion show. Removing clothes and exposing skin are presented in two polar ways. The powerful and esteemed role of choice in the these acts is a stark message about society, freedom and liberty. 

Katerina Seda – for every dog a different master

Seda intervened in the everyday life and social interactions of the people living in two distinct housing areas where she lived as a child. She noticed how people in Brno-Lisen and the more recently-built Nova-Lisen did not greet each other or acknowledge each other's existence. She did not feel comfortable with such social atomisation, so embarked on an attempt to revolutionise the social relations between the two groups. 

Seda printed a shirt with the design of the 1970 Brno-Lisen housing project. She then matched each address in Brno-Lisen with an address from Nova Lisen, and posted a shirt from each Brno-Lisen household to their corresponding Nova Lisen household in an attempt to encourage interaction and a collective sense of belonging. 

Yohji Yamamoto, wooden vest and skirt, AW 91-92

This vest and skirt made of hinged wooden slats demonstrates the architectural nature of fashion through the planar geometry and raw materials. The placard behind the piece commented: "Yamamoto has clearly articulated his position on the industry in which he works: he dislikes fashion and feels that his role is to regain respect for clothing and promote women’s independence."