Billy Andersson

Exploring equality through material values
 

My current work seeks to challenge notions of feminine and masculine social norms through an investigation into material values. I work with a combination of metal and textiles, using techniques that are strongly rooted in traditional craft. The ancient skills of metal craft are understood to belong to a historically masculine domain. Meanwhile textiles has long been perceived as a feminine and domestic craft. The materials that belong to these two separate crafts, offer their own inherent characteristics. Textiles are understood to be soft, malleable and light. In contrast, we recognize metal to be strong, resilient and heavy. I am interested in how these material values correspond to the social stereotypes allocated to each craft and how this relates to prevailing notions of the masculine and feminine.