Dressing Above Your Station (DAYS) was a virtual exhibition that considered the life and work of the Scottish artist Steven Campbell from a fashion and textiles perspective. It examined the depiction of clothing and cloth in his paintings, what he wore, how he wore it and how that related to the broader context of Scotland as a textile producer between the late 70s and early 90s. Central to this exhibition was a collection of Comme des Garçons clothing purchased in New York in the early 1980s with a $10,000 credit note that Steven received in exchange for one of his paintings. Simultaneously, DAYS considered issues of Scottish stereotypes and the stranglehold of national costume in a nation’s understanding of itself. Using digital technologies it explored, through Campbell’s paintings and personal clothing, the ways in which such categorisation can be appreciated, embraced and subverted.

The venue for the exhibition was an exact, 1:1 scale digital model of a real exhibition space, Tramway, one of Glasgow’s most successful arts venues. Employing photogrammetry, LiDAR, volumetric imaging, gaming technology and giga-pixel images, DAYS featured digital representations of Steven Campbell paintings, clothing and personal mementos as well as a recreation of the Comme des Garçons store on Wooster Street, New York where Steven purchased his collection of Comme clothing. An audio tour, narrated by Steven’s wife, Carol, guided visitors around the space.

This paper will reflect upon the development of DAYS; the cultural importance of Steven Campbell’s wardrobe; and how the digital realm afforded the curators an opportunity to question and recast notions of Scottishness. It will also consider how it navigated an issue often levelled at online exhibitions – that they can never satisfactorily capture the aura of the ‘real’ thing – as well as the importance of restraint in the seemingly boundless realm of digital technology.

https://gold.dressingaboveyourstation.com/

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