Exhibition Description
Special Installation/Exhibition in Collaboration with Eugenie
SPOTLIGHT by Eugenie: MARGARET HULL
Cottagecorps
February 1 – February 28, 2021
Video Projection + Meet the Artist: Saturday, February 20, 5-7 pm
View images | Visit our Artsy page to purchase works online
Simone DeSousa Gallery, in collaboration with Eugenie, is pleased to present the month of February project and window installation Cottagecorps by Margaret Hull.
Cottagecorps includes an installation, documentation series, and garments that contextualize the ongoing body of work, McCall’s 8616. In print, video, and textiles, Hull uses McCall Pattern Company pattern number 8616—the result of a 1983 licensing agreement with celebrity and model, Brooke Shields—as a template to assemble versions of the same blouse with a nod to the democratic nature of commercial garment patterns. The garments in this series are button down blouses, digitally printed with patterns inspired by floral chintz. Through this floral printed fabric and the patchwork environment in which she locates the garments, Hull addresses the role of this textile both in European colonization in the late 17th century and the current cottagecore aesthetic.
“Cottagecorps,” a homophone of cottagecore, references the commercialization of internet aesthetics and the ease and speed at which trends spread in digital spaces. The garments on display are handmade by Hull using secondhand fabric sourced on Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, and Arts and Scraps in Detroit. Sourcing locally and secondhand is a priority in her practice because it supports individuals in her community and contributes to her understanding of place and people through material, in addition to lessening the environmental impact of the fashion and textile industries.
Margaret Hull is a Detroit-based artist and designer. Hull has an MFA in Fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA in Fiber from Maryland Institute College of Art. She has been awarded residencies in Léhon, France, at AZ West in Joshua Tree, California, Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan, and Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont. Her work has been exhibited at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Cranbrook Art Museum, and Wasserman Projects, among others. She is Assistant Professorand Area Coordinator in the Fashion Design and Merchandising program at Wayne State University.
