Edna Broad
Hat For A Material Girl

Tasmania may be an island but it is not isolated from the world of consumer goods or services. Any product made anywhere in the world is just a computer click and credit card number entry away.

The lyrics of pop star Madonna’s 1984 hit Material Girl was the initial inspiration for the construction of my Hat for a material girl:

Living in a material world

And I am a material girl

You know that we are living in a material world

And I am a material girl

Other influences in my constructed hat are Barbara Kruger’s famous 1987 photographic screen-print shop therefore I am. I think this image sums up the significance of the credit card in consumer culture. The iconic shopping trolley is also an integral part of my work because it makes shopping easier while encouraging multiple purchases by the consumer.

I used the idea of a hat as the vehicle for my artwork because I felt it was a way of expressing symbolism with a feminine edge. The plastic cards seen in the work are digital copies made from the contents of my wallet and could be seen as my personal connection to the ‘material’ world as a Tasmanian woman.