Pussy (for Derrida and T.S. Eliot)

The Pussy (for Derrida and T.S. Eliot) series (2013-2014) is a 'tongue in cheek' textile drawing series of cat forms constructed out of womens underwear (panties) and cotton thread. The cat forms are derived from illustrations of T.S. Eliot's collection of whimsical poems about cat characters, Old Possums Book of Practical Cats (1939) - which I adore. The construction of these cat/animal forms from the material of human delineation - clothing (and in particular the liminal under-clothing that touches the naked human form) responds to Derrida's (2002:372–375) account of an awkward encounter with his cat, where he discovered that his naked body was the object of the cat’s penetrating gaze. Derrida (2002:372–375) begins his article ‘The animal that therefore I am (more to follow)’ (2002) with this anecdote to reveal (with humour and allowance for the agency of animals-as-protagonists) how thin the veneer of humanity really is, distinguished from animality merely by clothing in this instance. 

Derrida, J. 2002. The animal that therefore I am (more to follow). Trans. D. Wills. Critical Inquiry 28(2):369–418. 

Ann-Marie Tully, Pussy (for Derrida and T.S Eliot) I. Underwear, cotton on Fabriano, 240 x 200 mm. 

Ann-Marie Tully, Pussy (for Derrida and T.S Eliot) II. Underwear, cotton on Fabriano. 300 x 210 mm. 

Ann-Marie Tully, Pussy (for Derrida and T.S Eliot) III. Underwear, cotton on Fabriano. 260 x 180 mm. 

Ann-Marie Tully, Pussy (for Derrida and T.S Eliot) V. Underwear, cotton on Fabriano. 230 x 190 mm.  

Ann-Marie Tully, Pussy (for Derrida and T.S Eliot) VI. Underwear, cotton on Fabriano. 230 x 190 mm.  

Ann-Marie Tully, Pussy (for Derrida and T.S Eliot) VII. Underwear, cotton on Fabriano. 260 x 220 mm.

Ann-Marie Tully, Pussy (for Derrida and T.S Eliot) VIII. Underwear, cotton on Fabriano. 300 x

 195 mm.