Ava (Yi-Ping) Zhou
Soundsuit
Prompt: The inspiration for this project was Nick Cave's sound suits. We were to create a costume that reflects an idea or character. This costume should be able to cover the whole body to disguise one's identity, and by wearing it in public, we were to capture reactions of the public.
When I was about three years old to five years old, I remembered I had the experience of having past life scenes and images flashing across my mind constantly. Those moving images were so realistic that sometimes there are also sounds and colors. I would also have those images come to me in my sleep and I don’t think it was just imaginations or dreams.
I decided to base the concept of my project on this experience, which reminisces within the past and evokes the idea of past life and rebirth. I made this bodysuit with semi-transparent lining fabric and a headpiece of the same material. By looking through this milky white fabric, I cleared my mind and just focused on the feelings and the outer energy that comes to me. I let myself become fully immersed in the costume and the feelings. Through this project, I wanted to try to bring back those memories, or the feelings of it. While I was in the costume, I did feel a bit weird as if I was about to fall into something unknown.