Exhibition has a veiled message for fashion industry's perfection
Hide & Seek, a collection of photographic work by French artist Frederique Daubal, made its Hong Kong debut at Kapok boutique and gallery in Sun Street on Thursday. The artist, pictured with Kapok owner Arnault Castel, made her first trip to Hong Kong for the opening, and to check out the local art scene.
'The exhibition was originally slated for January, but then I wouldn't have been able to attend,' she said. 'This month I managed to make it a five-day trip. It's quite short, but I've been looking around the Central and Wan Chai galleries; it's a nice break from Paris.'
Her series features portraits of individuals wearing fringed 'veils' created with fashion magazine tear-outs, subverting the industry's obsession with picture-perfect images by superimposing them on real people.
'I cut the fringes on each mask by hand, so the lines aren't straight, and I make some of the clothing worn by my subjects,' Daubal said. 'There is no retouching done to the final prints - nothing in the real world is perfect.'
While her basic concept is a critique of the fashion world, Daubal says she enjoys the different feedback and interpretation the series receives. 'I've had people tell me how the veil reminds them of the Muslim burka,' she said. 'I'm sure I'll hear other interpretations from people in Hong Kong.'
Hide & Seek is on show at Kapok until March 20.
