Destroying the "Hate Dress"

On Sunday 6th July, we destroyed the "Hate Dress" at the end of the Central Saint Martins Post-Graduate show.

I began the performance by reading aloud soem of the troll comments from my social media accounts which have been featured on the dress.

I then performed my song 'A Thread of Empathy' which I wrote to reflect on my exploration in textiles, as a feminist art form centering compassion and care, through acts of mending.

Afterwards I invited my father to remove the first panel from the dress which I tore into shreds before inviting the audience to collectively destroy the dress with me.

The panel which features a quote from a member of my art collective "How can someone be so cruel?" was the only piece which remained in tact - I laid down on the tattered shreds and covered myself in the panel like a blanket.

My coursemate, Innesa, then began her performance, dancing and laying a red thread over the ground intertwined with the fragments of the "Hate Dress".

At the end of the performance, she pulled me out of the carnage and we tidied up the debris into a neat pile, laying it on the only remaining panel of the dress.

The entire performance was filmed by Jeff Kew who will be editing a video to document the work.