Lea Culetto: Gloves

2019–2020, installation of wearable objects

The Gloves project derives from the “fashion trademark” deflowered by Lea, which tackles current as well as concealed themes (in)directly connected to the female body. In the project, the artist uses a play of associations to intertwine three types of work: paid labour unpaid (house)work and beauty work. Through an artistic “appropriation” or “estrangement” of an everyday object, such as protective latex gloves, Lea Culetto transforms these shabby, industrially produced goods into a value-added product – a fashion accessory.

The defamiliarization of protective gloves, stereotypically associated with “women’s work”, the work of a “housewife” or a “cleaning lady”, triggers a reflection on the power relations inscribed into everyday objects, socially connotated in one way or another. The artist associates these themes with toxicity, and every pair of gloves playfully represents a certain context: toxicity in intimate relationships, at a workplace, in the repressiveness of the (neo)patriarchal social system, as well as literal toxicity of the toxic substances (once) present in cosmetics and cleaning products.

The deflowered by Lea project was produced by Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana.

Co-produced by the City of Women, Goethe-Institut Ljubljana.

As part of the Corneous Stories exhibition programme, Lea Culetto is also scheduled to hold an art-education workshop entitled We are Hard-Pressed – Let’s Nail It!