Noam Verbin

Beauty Bar , Noam Verbin

This project focuses on 'body cages', as a reflection of the 'social cages' which imprison us and impose standards on our life. We are constantly under criticism that originates in the difficulty of keeping up with an ever-rising bar. We are always in a conflict, in between the dictated 'prison' and the authentic inner truth. The project presents an anatomical torso last made of wood, executed digitally, on which the 'cage-bra' was constructed by hand. It cages and confines the female breasts, clamping them to a pole representing the bar, the standards of beauty. Claw-like connectors heighten the bra's aggressive presence. The item is mainly made of vegetable-tanned leather, a timeless material; it bears the scent of 'days of old' and manual craft. Work with it requires time and patience – echoing "slow movement" values, which oppose the intensive rhythm of contemporary culture. Materials: Layered birch, vegetable-tanned sole leather, aluminum, textile Techniques: Digital 3D body scan, 7-pivot milling, metal casting, wet molding, hand-sewing Mentor: Eliora Lemmer Ginsburg