[FASHION] The Cotton Queen Quest: It Fitted Like a Glove

Emily Tonge (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of sculpture, textiles and performance, from the North West of England and currently based in London.

Female stories of performativity, power and dress are central to Emily's practice, by investigating structures and materials that exist in proximity to the body. She’s particularly fascinated by the in-between spaces and blurred lines created by these structures and the female body.

This approach is underpinned by deep dives into heritage and archival research, to unpick how the past, frames the contemporary. Bringing to the surface, neglected stories of importance surrounding gender and class.

Through a feminist lens, this body of work examines historic notions of the Northern female identity, paying homage to the women who partook in the Cotton Queen Quest, while also discussing labour, automation and exploitation, blurring the lines between human and machine.

Image credit: Emily Tonge Sculptures in Performance