Olivia
Nicholls Bates

This piece was what initially inspired my other work "Labour of Wealth", in exploring how one's attire could be used as a tool to express identity, back in days of old, in which I further developed my interpretation of how class and social status played such a significant role (primarily, the Renaissance through to the Enlightenment epoch), through making mixed media work, weaving together threads and paint.
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This work however, was also intentionally designed to be a close up, a reference to photography today often being used to capture clothing from a multitude of angles (high fashion photoshoots come to mind), adding a modern social commentary and narrative to the piece.
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It's incredibly rare to see a traditional painting made in such a close capacity to the wearer, which would often be taken far back at a great distance to capture the figure's full stance, to effectively encapsulate the extravagance and wealth of the model; most often of a notable, prestigious and privileged background. 
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