we've received orders not to move

Three people were kneeling in a row with an audio box in front of them. The people wore vintage dresses and aprons. The aprons were white with a pattern ofsmall pink flowers. Each of these flowers was pierced with a safety pin, which was open. The audio was the sound of chains with voices repeating “we have received orders not to move”.This piece was a meditation on gender control both from within and without. Increating the piece I attempted to fill the gender roles women are meant to fill and, in doing so, forced myself to confront my failings in this area. I used inherited sewing kits from my grandmother and great grandmother to sew the aprons by hand despite having no sewing knowledge or experience. The kneeling position of the performers references the sexual roles and expectations which are placed upon women. In both the making of the aprons and the kneeling, I failed according to traditional standards – I was not able to kneel for hours on the end and the stitching on the aprons was inconsistent and flawed. The open safety pins are a visual representation of the pain involved with fulfilling traditional gender roles. The pink flowers are representative of feminine innocence, while the open safety pins express the pain involved when this fantasy of purity is pierced with reality. The audio states “we have received orders not to move”, the voice could belong to one of the people kneeling or from an outsider – this was left purposefully ambiguous. Either way, the people have chosen to obey their orders and, in doing so, intentionally torture themselves.