Annabelle Press
Wire Gloves
Prompt: Envision and create an object, a fabrication that is worn on the body, or an installation environment that either uses narrative or metaphorical means.
Robert Gober’s The Ascending Sinks was my main source of inspiration for this project. He handcrafted replicas of sinks in response to the AIDS epidemic in New York City. He purposely excluded the faucets, making them unusable in order to represent the lack of government funding, resources and attention brought to the unfortunate circumstances. While studying this underlying meaning, I found many similarities and relations to the current events regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, we are forced to reconsider and prevent our interaction with others, but there are still areas where people are not taking the most effective actions for lessening the virus’ impact. Therefore, it can feel as if the absence of these cautionary measures defeats the purpose for having them in the first place.
And so, for this project I decided to make a pair of gloves that lacked what a typical pair of gloves provides: a barrier between the skin and what is being handled. Using wire, I made the basic structure of the gloves, keeping the ideas of a minimal contour drawing and the human hand’s presence, as well as absence, in mind. Collectively, this piece speaks upon an item that is currently in such high demand, while having a ‘barely there’ quality when it is and isn’t being worn.
