The Fourth Persona: Archaeology of Costume (an experimental exhibition)

Abstract

Costume as a cultural marker: How does archived performance costume indicate notions of national identity? When a performance costume ceases to be used as a tool for performance and enters an archive, it acquires a 'fourth persona'. On top of the private, public and professional identities a single costume represents of the individual/s who wore it, an archived costume also represents a collective identity - that of the society from within which the costume was created. The costume tells multiple stories of people, time and place, and as such, is a valuable research tool to better understand the nuanced identity of a collective of humans. Can a collection of archived costumes, then, infor..