FOLDERS, SUITS, POCKETS, FILES, STOCKS by Joke Robaard

Sercession Valiz, 2003 First edition, 360 pp., 5 3/4" X 8 1/2" Softcover

Very good

The artist and photographer Joke Robaard (the Netherlands, 1953), originally trained in fashion, investigates the configuration of groups of people, for example in networks of friends, colleagues, companies and neighbours. She ‘directs’ individuals in certain positions and patterns in relation to one another, which are then photographed, and uses clothing to illustrate where the connections lie and how they are constantly shifting.
Her work is based on a huge collection of images and texts, relating to people’s clothing behaviour patterns. Robaard does not categorise them as ‘fashion’, but wants to find out how clothing works. Her archive can be seen as a cartographic record of everyday clothing.