01. The Sun is just another Star
Performance, 2022
‘The Sun is Just Another Star’ is a performance piece by Emma Alvin that seeks to understand the theatrics in online renderings of the cute, humorous, and nonsensical. Taking these subjects offline reveals that contemporary aesthetic movements such as the ‘Sad Girl’ or ‘Cute but Psycho’ cosplay on apps like TikTok and Tumblr are merely modernized conceptions of traditional theatre play like the romantic clown mime and puppeteering. To explore these dynamics, several acts were staged and performed live, combining poetry, absurd costuming (a two-meter-tall tulle dog), and drama.
The work bears the imprint of Dadaism - playing with sense making contra complete nonsense, within the framework of online freebleeding and cringe culture.
Performance, 2022
‘The Sun is Just Another Star’ is a performance piece by Emma Alvin that seeks to understand the theatrics in online renderings of the cute, humorous, and nonsensical. Taking these subjects offline reveals that contemporary aesthetic movements such as the ‘Sad Girl’ or ‘Cute but Psycho’ cosplay on apps like TikTok and Tumblr are merely modernized conceptions of traditional theatre play like the romantic clown mime and puppeteering. To explore these dynamics, several acts were staged and performed live, combining poetry, absurd costuming (a two-meter-tall tulle dog), and drama.
The work bears the imprint of Dadaism - playing with sense making contra complete nonsense, within the framework of online freebleeding and cringe culture.
Photography: Harry Freegard and Iris Luz
Poetry: Hedda Röök and Nina Kihlborg
Graphic Design: Coumba Samba
Poetry: Hedda Röök and Nina Kihlborg
Graphic Design: Coumba Samba
02. i-D Magazine
Interview, 2022
In our latest episode of D-i-Y, costume designer Emma Alvin shows us the process behind making her giant Bichon Frisé dog costume.
The piece is made in the style of an old pantomime horse, where two actors make up the front and back ends of the dog while synchronizing their movements.
WDYT of the final product?
Interview, 2022
In our latest episode of D-i-Y, costume designer Emma Alvin shows us the process behind making her giant Bichon Frisé dog costume.
The piece is made in the style of an old pantomime horse, where two actors make up the front and back ends of the dog while synchronizing their movements.
WDYT of the final product?
Editor: Fiona Hartley
Social Media Direactor: Danil Boparai
Social Media Direactor: Danil Boparai
03. Life is too short to skip Dessert
Performance and Costume, 2018
‘Life is too short to skip Dessert’ is a daring performance piece that uses comedy, a critique of knowledge production, and fashion codes to explore our understanding of 'otherness' and the delicate line between common sense and insanity. Through the use of a "cake fail" cooking fiasco, an actor starts the live-performance with acts of high fashion and glamour, gradually transitioning into an amusingly chaotic strip-tease. Ultimately, the audience is left with the actor in 'cream-spritzing underwear' slipping and falling in utmost embarrassment. This transformation is made visually clear via the textile garment worn by the actor, which is gradually revealed through its hidden pockets.
Performance and Costume, 2018
‘Life is too short to skip Dessert’ is a daring performance piece that uses comedy, a critique of knowledge production, and fashion codes to explore our understanding of 'otherness' and the delicate line between common sense and insanity. Through the use of a "cake fail" cooking fiasco, an actor starts the live-performance with acts of high fashion and glamour, gradually transitioning into an amusingly chaotic strip-tease. Ultimately, the audience is left with the actor in 'cream-spritzing underwear' slipping and falling in utmost embarrassment. This transformation is made visually clear via the textile garment worn by the actor, which is gradually revealed through its hidden pockets.
Photography: Linnea Skoglösa
04. Illustration
Alvin's digital illustrations are characterized by their raw style of collaging, sketching, and naïvely playful nature. Combining hand-drawn elements, digital images, and a variety of textures, Alvin creates characters and narratives that honor the bizarre, and offer an irreverent take on modern media.