1. Objectifs

Intentions :
This thesis explores «how visual popular culture has appropriated the white dress as a stereotypical symbol of the bride’s role in the wedding ceremony, affecting her identity as a wife and woman in general.» (p. 261)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The research is based on the following two questions: «How can art help us understand the roles wedding dresses play in shaping women’s identities as wives and female individuals today? […]. How can collaborative art-making generate learning experiences related to our personal and social circumstances as women?» (p. 5)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
L’étude est basée sur la participation de 19 femmes impliquées dans un processus de création artistique de leur robe de mariage.

Instruments :
Guide d’entretien semi-directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

«As this research-creation demonstrates, our identities as adult women are much broader and more complex than that of nurturing, domestic and loving wives. The resulting fabric prints present diverse, divided, fluid and deeply personal female identities, questioning or outright rejecting traditional notions of passivity and submission enforced by the institution of marriage. This project reveals that while love and commitment are perceived as the two key aspects of a marriage, concepts of change, fragmentation, immobility, family, domesticity and confinement play an equally large role. Moreover, through this creative process, we were able to recognize the heterosexual structures of power behind the institution of marriage while acquiring the necessary tools to represent, challenge and change them. Thus, by creating participative responses to popular representations of brides, we were able to actively reject their imposition on our bodies and lives while validating other forms of being together.» (p. 261-262)