2005

 

Christine Collins

Stanmore, NSW

Expectations

Glass cut and drilled, constructed with wire

Matinee Jacket

28 H x 42 W cm

Booties (not shown)

6 H x 4 W x 8 D cm

The work revives a traditional labour of women, knitting intricate and almost ornamental clothing for the expected child of a family member or friend. The ornamentation of the garment anticipates grandeur for the future child. Expectations extend far beyond this to the delicate issues of fertility and gender. Gender, and the narrow interpretation of gender, places particular expectations on the newborn from the moment of birth. The adult expects or is expected to reproduce. The developed world spends vast amounts of money to assist with fertility and also spends vast amounts of money in the third world to limit population. What are our expectations and on what foundation are they laid?