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review from SEE MAGAZINE, June 12-18
Planned to a T
Seemingly simple shirts designed for multiple meanings
SELF STORAGE
Window displays are a kind of art–after all,
they’re meant to grab the attention of the passerby who would
otherwise just, well, pass by. The one created by Mariann Sinkovics,
local performer and artist, at the SNAP Gallery window is not even
meant to sell anything specific, it’s just part of her latest
project, Self Storage.
" What I’m doing is using the window and
the front administrative space at SNAP as part of their fundraising/outreach;
I’m making and selling T-shirts."
Any amount of theorizing could be done on the mass-culture aspects of the lowly
T-shirt. As a blank slate for advertisers, there has been no larger scam for
getting corporate logos out there in the world, worn on the backs of people
who actually will PAY to do so, no less. But Sinkovics has less sinister reasons
for moving into the medium.
" The most obvious reason was I made bottoms and
I needed tops."
And what is the idea behind her title work, Self Storage?
" That comes specifically from being contained
in an urban landscape. The meaning isn’t obvious at first.
It just looks minimal. I also have kids’ shirts that say ‘mini
storage.’ I do like tampering with garments and I do sew. I
actually have an ongoing pajama fetish."
Yet it is the familiarity we have with the shirts that
led to this project.
" I did them for the Comedy Festival in January, and to make sure I had
a mass, common denominator. I chose T-shirts because they’re a little more
accessible than a picture on the wall. I collected anecdotes and printed things
on shirts."
Phrases like "self storage" or "haunted
housewife" are minimalist punch lines, whereas others are more
pointed critiques, like "empty every night."
The designs themselves are simple: one-colour text.
In that sense, Sinkovics is as much a composer as visual artist.
The glib quality of a T-shirt slogan can be compared to the spare
economy of poetic language.
" I was actually taking poetry in university and
I noticed that words were fabulous for design ideas, they get a message
across quickly. I’m silkscreening them upstairs. I like the
handmade quality to them. I’ve only been printmaking for about
a year, but it’s become part of my repertoire."
Her eclectic inventory includes: designing and construction
of garments, performance, large-scale painting, dance and movement.
These works are a kind of tangential combination of
her design, painting and performance backgrounds.
" Just getting [these words] out there is really
liberating. I’m like a walking performance piece without being
too aggressive, just wearing what you’re thinking.
" I’m gradually putting more editions out
in the window. Right now I have 13 shirts that say "haunted
housewife" with brooms, that’s just the start. I’ll
move into another theme in about a week or so, and put the others
on a rack for sale."
Her entire collection of shirts will be on sale at
the July 1 closing at the gallery.
Ever the fashion stylist, she adds, "I think I might add some boxers."
by Mari Sasano
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