Overview
The work was inspired by an 18th century medical engraving and women’s corsetry throughout the ages. The engraving, Ange Anatomic (below), by Jacques Fabien Gauthier d’Agoty, is of a woman whose back has been flayed, exposing the musculature and bone structure and creating the suggestion of wings. Ange incorporates this form into a wearable piece of custom-made corsetry. Using electronic sensors to make the rib cage “playable” (i.e. enabling the player’s touch to trigger and manipulate sound samples and tones), Ange allows the user to metaphorically touch and “play” the body of the wearer.
Jacques Fabian Gautier D’Agoty, 1717–1785
