Student crafts personal empowerment through fashion focused on the feminine
Lin sits at a desk, framed by a mannequin draped with fabrics on the left and notes taped to the wall above. For Lin, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more limited access to materials, leading to more avant-garde creations. (Finn Chitwood/Daily Bruin)
The artistic arsenal of Agnes Lin stretches from canvas to cloth.
The third-year art and art history student said her projects spanning various mediums have allowed for in-depth explorations of her femininity and sense of self. Lin shares many of her works through social media, including sketches, paintings and wearable pieces which often feature women as their primary focus. Although she considers painting and drawing as her favorite art forms, Lin said multi-dimensional art offers a level of exhilaration through its interactive nature.
“I love texture and I love to touch and to feel,” Lin said. “Art is about engaging with the senses, and with painting you engage with your eyes. With other, more 3D arts, you can engage with your touch, and your depth (of) perception to some extent if you can move in closer.”
At a young age, Lin said she expressed her creativity through vast amounts of drawings and watercolor paintings, which led her mother to hide the drawing paper to prevent Lin from using all of it. Beyond sketching and painting, Lin said her exploration of fashion – which began with a dress made of soda can pop tabs – led to a sense of personal empowerment.
“I found myself through fashion – it really helped me with self-esteem,” Lin said. “I always wanted to make clothes, I would alter them and stuff, but it wasn’t until that dress (made of pop tabs) that … I actually made (something) physical, not 2D.”
After reading Kassia St. Clair’s “The Secret Lives of Color,” Lin said the book’s mention of a dress created by Spanish designer Paco Rabanne composed of bottle caps led her to imagine her own version. Before ultimately wearing her creation to prom, she said the full-length silver gown took approximately three months to create, during which she enlisted friends to help in amassing pop tabs. Wyatt Clay, a friend and high school classmate of Lin, said he remembers the excitement of seeing the final product of Lin’s detailed creative process.
During the pandemic, Lin said she was able to further hone her fashion skills by expanding the boundaries of her designs through avant-garde creations. Lin was living in Chicago at the time and had only brought a small portion of her art supplies, which she said forced her to be more inventive and detail-oriented in her use of materials. Lin said she found the ability to be transported by her own creations during this period through developing and wearing designs that did not fit the confines of everyday wear. — Graciana Paxton, April 12, 2022
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Daily Bruin website.
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