Camille Wyatt
What You Givin' Me Flowers For?
Prompt: Customize a pre-existing piece/object/space with your personal story.The objective is to intervene with (disrupt) an object or a space that was designed by someone else, bringing your own new meaning into it.
When presented with this assignment my mind flew to my classical ballet education, and how my existence as Black woman in that space is a disruption of the entire ballet culture. I created my headpiece from a tutu I wore performing “La Bayadère”, a famous classical ballet. I remember the flowers I received after the matinee. I remember leaving them in the dressing room. I’ve always been averted to receiving praise for performing in white spaces. My headpiece is a reconstruction of that flower bouquet and is a gift to myself. It is a representation of my growing love for performing art in my own Black image. My fabric choices are an ode to that cluttered dressing room and a natural product of my maximalist taste. These are the flowers I know I deserve and am grateful to receive.