Hat Model c. 1938

Curator: The watercolour before us, "Hat Model," was created circa 1938 by Beverly Chichester. It presents a rather intriguing subject. What are your first thoughts? Editor: There's a peculiar stillness about it, isn’t there? It feels melancholic and oddly confrontational. The mannequin head, so rigidly presented, reminds me of the objectification inherent within the fashion industry, particularly regarding idealized female beauty standards during the late 1930s. Curator: I agree that the somewhat stark presentation commands attention. Look closely at the wooden stand and the materials themselves; notice how meticulously Chichester renders them. The construction is highlighted and it makes the labour, both in the crafting of the stand itself, and in the depiction of it, so present. This underscores the materiality of the object, almost elevating its mundane function. Editor: Absolutely, and if we examine that function through a gendered lens, it's easy to read it as a critique. Fashion, throughout history, has been deeply entwined with female identity and societal expectations. This model, stripped of its own agency, becomes a silent vessel for these impositions. The choice of watercolour too, known for its delicate and sometimes fragile quality, can be interpreted in that manner. Curator: Watercolour is very immediate – the marks laid down are often unchangeable which adds to that effect. Yet the very simplicity of this object, almost austere, prompts a kind of reconsideration, perhaps it reflects something else... the precision with which it's recorded emphasizes an act of artistic labour and careful observation that belies what is represented. Editor: Yes, there's that tension. Perhaps it embodies the way societal structures attempt to contain identity while individual expressions continuously resist. Curator: In that way, the mannequin head, resting stiffly upon that wooden support, represents a potential and perhaps latent point of production—ready, waiting, available—for ideological transmission as well as adornment. Editor: Agreed, a complex nexus where labor, representation, and the female form converge. Thank you. Curator: A very astute perspective.