The project takes inspiration from Carl Jung’s notion of persona, which can denote personality or masquerade alike, signifying the outward face or role presented rather than the true self. This notion is explored in dialogue with Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish and his writings on biopolitics and biopower, with particular emphasis on how societal structures of power subjugate individuals and shape dynamics of expression and social conformity.

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Within the project, power is characterised as a force that estranges the individual from their true self. At the same time, most expressions of power bind the individual to the societal conditions that accompany it, as privileges are revoked if one fails to align with its associated responsibilities and burdens. Moreover, no vacuum of power remains for long after the passing of a person in power, suggesting that such power was never truly possessed by the individual.

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Powerlessness is formulated as the counterpoint to power. Unlike power, powerlessness is understood as a condition that brings one closer to their true self. In moments of experienced powerlessness, an individual’s physical, mental, and emotional boundaries become visible to them, demanding heightened self-awareness and acknowledgment of who and what they are. While often perceived as a painful experience, powerlessness can reconnect the individual with their true self through the process of overcoming it.

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Power and powerlessness are thus considered mutually shaping forces, remaining in constant flux and continuously estranging and reconnecting the individual with their true self.

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Six wearable sculptures were tailored to display signifiers of both power and powerlessness. Extended body silhouettes play on the idea of becoming larger than oneself, a trope often found in corporate business attire with sharp, elongated shoulders, or in royal insignia such as crowns. Concealing the wearer’s face served to demonstrate power by disguising identity from others while simultaneously removing it from the self. Powerlessness, by contrast, was interpreted as a turning inward and metaphorically translated through references to looking beneath the skin. Restricting the wearer’s movement further articulated powerlessness as a condition that forces one to remain present, holding on to the immediacy of the moment.