During a recent trip to Japan, I was struck by a sign I encountered in a public garden that read, Beautification Enforcement Area. What is it about human beings and control? I thought. So much of our environment we endeavour to control. Sometimes all we can try to control is our own body.
Meaning shifts when words are placed on the body. As an article of adornment, Beautification Enforcement Area could relate to the subject of aging, or the use of filters on social media apps to modify our appearance, or more dramatically, the proliferation of cosmetic surgery and other interventions to attain unrealistic, age defying ideals of beauty and perfection. A recent article in The Guardian noted that shockingly ‘a third of girls say they won’t post selfies without enhancement.’ Meaning shifts again when the form of the jewellery object is a painstakingly hand pierced silver stencil. Enabling the wearer to stencil words onto other places, other people, other objects, enabling the wearer to publically not just voice an objection, an observation, an idea but to physically implement one. And, how much of what we read can we believe? Is this really a coat?
