Ronnie Lee Slack
Ronnie Lee Slack graduated from Goldsmiths University of London in June 2008 with a BA Hons in Textiles. In his final year Lee created a collection of monumental sculptures based around the cowboy. Looking at work-wear as a starting point, he transformed and personalised these garments by making them into sculptural forms. For his latest installation he has concentrated on chaps as a practical garment for the cowboy with functional attributes in the equestrian industry to protect against chaffing. Chaps have also been iconized through the Gay club scene due to their associations with fetish and desire. For Lee the materials in fetish clothing, particularly leather, cowhide and hard wearing denim, are not only sexual but also very sensual and tactile. The combination of hard, cold aluminium, in contrast with these soft more organic and animalistic materials fascinates him. The shiny metal holds references of bondage wear, sex toys and restrictive apparatus. Lee’s use of aluminium as a lining for the Chaps is a strange and exciting proposition to be worn against the skin. All Lee’s work is doubled from original human scale to emphasise titillation, and to play into notions of sexuality and desire. The rope and the smell of cowhide allow for an imaginative reference to endless possibilities of being strapped, tied and bound to the animal. Through the hand and machine made processes used to construct these works, Lee invites the viewer to reappraise the everyday mundane object as a sensual and delightful experience. Lee lives and works in London.
