Jessica Dipietro

Letting Go of an Unachievable Dream

Much of the materials in this piece use a combination of ballet materials. 30 pairs of pointe shoes were soaked overnight and disassembled by hand. Each piece has either the outside of a pointe shoe or the inside burlap and newspaper inside a pointe shoe. My pointe shoes were stained from blood and sweat after hours of dancing into them. Cut-up tutu, tulle, spandex, chiffon, elastic, ribbon, lace and leather are other materials used for this piece. The collected materials in this series are from years of ballet dancing, with the primary intention of learning to let go of a past self and parting with sentimental objects. The colours of purples, blues, yellow, and red in this series are representative of the bruising/scarring/infection from the healing process from my time of injury to the present. All the bunching/ruching reflects how my skin bunched together with the stitches. The movement of the fabric is reminiscent of dancing as the ballet costume sways with each step taken. Light reflects off the curves and bumps of the painting's surface, casting a dance-like shadow onto the wall. For me, "Letting Go of an Unachievable Dream" exists on the wall because this series is a performance.

“It was October when the doctor told me I had arthritis in my left ankle from the original ligament repair surgery I had. I had the first surgery in my first year here at OCAD, and I have been struggling with mobility and chronic pain ever since. December came, and I had my second surgery, fusing my joints to create a stronger, more stable ankle. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean my chronic pain would be gone right away. This series, "Letting Go of an Unachievable Dream," is a visual representation of my frustration and resentment towards chronic pain, struggles with mobility, and ballet. "Letting Go of an Unachievable Dream" is a sculptural painting series that uses a collage-style technique with spray foam as the bodily glue to keep everything together. The spray foam appearance looks like dried blood/pus from surgical scars. It's a man-made material that expands and looks like organic matter, adding a unique bodily effect to each piece.”