I work as a set and costume designer in the theatre, most recently at places like the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh, the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow and Shakespeares Globe in London. As with most theatre creatives the recent Covid pandemic had a huge effect on my work with most of it initially either being cancelled or postponed. So finding myself with no creative outlet I started to make some collages, just for fun at first but I enjoyed it so much I have just continued! I see the work I make as an extension of my theatre work, especially my costume work, as I have always had a somewhat eclectic style that transcends different styles and epochs.
In theatre costume is often used as a way of showing status and power. Its something that obviously happens in real life too. Displays of wealth through clothing have been prevalent since ancient times. In the UK and throughout Europe the Sumptuary Laws of the Middle Ages were brought in to monitor and maintain social hierarchy and order through clothes. The type of dress, use of certain materials, colours, decorative elements, numbers of layers of garments were confined to specific class categories and punishments were meted out to any who broke these rules. These laws were unchanged until the mid 18th century but their influence lives on today in a fashion industry which is driven by aspirations of social mobility.
It is these ideas that are the main driving force behind the works that I make. Clothing shapes, influences and enforces our understanding of identity and social status and this is especially relevant to ideas around female identity. Bringing together imagery from across the centuries is my way of seeing how far our ideas around female identity have evolved, or not!
I started sharing my collages on Instagram in late 2021 and the reaction has been amazing! I've since had my work shown in several magazines and publications. You can read an article about it here in Elle USA https://www.elle.com/culture/art-design/a60652155/jessica-worrall-digital-art/
And you can also find out more about both my collages and my theatre work at my website www.jessicaworrall.co.uk