Martina Cox: Heart Eyes

Jarvis & Werner are excited to present Martina Cox’s solo exhibition, Heart Eyes. Cox’s practice explores the femme form through carefully sourced Victorian era body containers including bodices, corsets and crinoline cages. Her working process typically begins with intense research into specific areas of fashion history. The containers are either represented in images Cox draws or directly utilizes as readymade objects.

Heart Eyes consists of three bodies of work: color pencil and watercolor works on paper depicting the boned interiors of women’s bodices, sculptures made from crinoline cages embellished with millinery decorations and small bronze boxes containing the packaging of sewing notions.

The painstakingly created works on paper are life size representations of the interiors of bodices, drawn from digital images of these garments often found on auction house websites. Cox boldly crops the chosen images, which become extremely detailed almost abstract forms, but upon closer inspection whalebone ribs, busks and laces can be detected. Thread, hooks and eyes are sewn directly into the paper, joining the material structure of clothes to their representation. These representations of the femme torso recall the paintings of Christina Ramberg and performances of VALIEEXPORT, both of whom are important references.