Taglines and the Yessica Trilogy

Taglines and the Yessica Trilogy

My Taglines are tiny poems or micro stories that I make by stitching clothes labels and other fabric tags in a certain order onto pieces of cloth. The limited set of words that I have available always presents me with a puzzle: how can I make an interesting line? When I begin with a few intriguing labels I am not always sure how I will end or what the middle will be. I often add a bit of logic - you could call this cheating a little - by embroidering a few small words that connect the words on the tags. My decision about the title is finalised only once the labels are fixed onto the fabric.

Today I am thinking about three pieces with one thing in common: they all contain a label with the name Yessica on it. These are the Taglines entitled Starting Over, A Fairytale and Aiming High. I am trying to make sense of Yessica as a character.

Starting Over begins with a response, an agreement with a skipper. It can be read as an encouragement to live a more natural and relaxed life that is good for the environment too. The skipper is not alone. I have a feeling that Yessica is a positive influence in this decision or that she already knows what she wants.

Starting Over

Aye aye skipper, Go Green - wash at 30°C,  FREE/QUENT  the  River,  Woods!

=== RESET   together   with   Yessica:

                                    just        CANOE     »»

                                            have a nice day!

Before Starting Over, I had made one other Tagline with Yessica. Its title, A Fairytale, means that I saw her as a young princess initially. In this piece, Yessica's attitude does not seem to be agreeing or agreeable. She is rather celebrated for the apanage that allows her to say no to things. (Yes, I had a label with 'apanage' on it and looked up what it means: it is a perquisite, a perk, that comes with a certain position.) Having the privilege to say no or a license to throw fits contrasts with what Yessica's name suggests. Note that this is Yessica - not Jessica - a retired teenage brand of C&A. The no-saying does not have to be all negative, however, and could imply a yes to the opposite of what Yessica does not like. I hope she will say no to pollution, waste, war, violence. I am worried though about what kind of people Arabella & Addison in this Tagline are really. Are they just flatterers, people-in-waiting, or do they agree with Yessica's saying No-No to bad causes?

A Fairytale Arabella & Addison champion Yessica's 8 yrs' apanage of Guaranteed NO-NO

For the third Yessica Tagline, Aiming High, I sewed labels onto an old, out-of-square embroidered canvas I found in a textile recycle shop in Brussels. I was a little sad about the way Yessica seemed to have grown up now: a Toplady who knows how to enjoy her exotic life in a vacuous (Bla-Bla) manner. Although maybe it is not about Yessica, but only about assumptions people have about her. 'Tu' ('You') could be everywoman/man who aspires to be like Yessica. But this too, is based on assumptions: first, the very concept of the existence of an average person; second, the idea that an average person would want to emulate Yessica. It could all feel like an insult. In that case, just take in the vintage embroidery whilst imagining the soft textures and tropical colours of mango and papaya. Then realise (as I do now), that the order of the Yessica Trilogy is 1. A Fairytale, 2. Aiming High, 3. Starting Over and so the Taglines have become chapters of a somewhat larger story.

Aiming High

Tu | woman, wouldn't you love to lounge as Toplady

Yessica in mango jeans of a BLA-BLA Feminin Collection

                  on a papaya weekend?

Here you can view more of my Taglines.