Sol Brophy
For my major project I chose Terry Pratchett's novel "Lords ad Ladies", which is partially a spoof of 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' and general fairy-tale tropes. The story follows three witches, Granny, Nanny, and Magrat as they navigate the colliding of their world with the world of the cruel and sadistic Elves, and Magrat's engagement to the King. The story explores how people are seduced and trapped by appearances and the false idea of perfection as something desirable. I chose this text as it plays around with historical time periods in a fantasy world, drawing elements from the medieval through to the industrial revolution. I was drawn to Magrat as a character who grows from hesitant and passive to a strong Queen and independent witch.
In this project I wanted to explore mixing real historical costume with fantastical elements. I chose this text as it plays around with historical time periods in a fantasy world, drawing elements from rural medieval kingdoms through to the industrial revolution and sprawling cities. I chose to focus on the period from late medieval to early Tudor and a more rural setting.
The text explores the power of stories and imagination but also the importance of rational. Magrat is a character that is swept up into the ideal fairy tale ending - living in a castle with everything she could want and engaged to a King who is caring. However over the course of the story she comes to realise that its not all its cracked up to be and instead she feels trapped and isolated. My aim was to create something visually playful and whimsical that still portrays the weight of Magrats new position along with her start as a herbology witch.
For the design portion of this project my aim was to develop world building through costume and visually distinguish the characters from each other, drawing from their backgrounds and roles in the text.
For the technical aspect of my minor I recreated a garment from Dr. Dolittle (1967), originally designed by Ray Aghayan. The garment was based on a late 1890s walking suit.
The design portion was dedicated to designing an adaptation of The Fifth Element (1997). My aim was to create a cohesive costume line up that was camp, playful, and futuristic but recognisable.
This thesis looks at three monsters from body horror films, and analyses them through the framework of transgender studies and representation. The first chapter examines Kenneth Branagh's 1994 film 'Marry Shelley's Frankenstein' and how the Creations treatment by society mirrors that of how transgender people are treated - specifically within the context of the body having a right and wrong way of being. The second chapter focuses on John Carpenter's 1982 film 'The Thing', looking at how anyone that is uncategorisable to western society is deemed irregular and unnatural. the third chapter looks at John Fawcett's 2000 film 'Ginger Snaps' and how puberty for transgender people is mirrored in the violent and unstoppable werewolf transformation. By analysing these three films through a transgender viewpoint I suggest that seeing ourselves in the movie monster doesn't have to be a negative, we can take something positive from our casting as the Monster.
Sol is a costume designer based in Dublin and Kildare. They have with a particular love for incorporating science fiction and fantasy elements into their work. Sol is especially passionate about the hands on, transformative nature of costume - the joining of imagination and technical skill to create something special.
