THE ANATOMICAL HARNESS

I drape the harnesses live and incorporate the model's own unique anatomy into each design. They are bespoke and one of a kind. No harness fits another. The images are a byproduct of my concept of actually pulling one's pelvis to the outside... abstracting it in a very particular, very beautiful way... then re-creating that shape into the physical form so that she can actually wear it. When worn, she is literally able to wear an abstraction of her pelvis. In pencil, I draw the abstracted shape that I see in my mind directly on to the panel of calico that's pinned to her leotard. I navigate around her bone structure to include all the critical referential landmarks. Once the shape is perfected, it’s inked in with pen. Afterward, I remove the panel and voilà, the pattern piece has been captured!

In the beginning, the harnesses were very structured and anatomical in feeling (see left). They followed the strict contours of the female pelvis, mimicking the rise and fall of the Iliac crest or amplifying the bridge of the pubic symphysis. When you see the harnesses, you know that it is an abstraction of the pelvis, and it is distinctly female.

THE METAMORPHIC HARNESS

I’ve recently started a new direction with the approach that I don’t know what the end result will be. I now drape the harnesses in a way that is about capturing the moment, verses my initial approach of making a structured canvas harness. The harnesses have transitioned from being anatomical into something that is more ethereal and instinctual, and highly decorative. They serve as metaphors to express a woman’s dynamic, complex and oftentimes zany energy. They are more intricate and fragile than before and semi couture-like; perhaps a humble attempt to bridge my life as an artist to my life as a designer. Once the session is over, and I photograph the model wearing our otherworldly creation, nothing is kept or survives from the session.

Absolutely Nothing.

THE POM-POM HARNESS

The Pom-Pom harness is a concept that is based on an unusual mix of the allegorical 'horn-of-plenty' (cornucopia) and stellar constellations. The process is similar to that of the Metamorphic harness. Pieces of calico are shredded and made into round pom-pom like boughs. Although nothing survives the shoot, the pom-poms are kept and recycled for use in future sessions.

Although this series is affectionately known as the Pom- Pom Harness, it's official name is the Cornucopic Harness because of its reference to the horn-of-plenty.