Vannessa Nacif

Hook

2019

I began making one-of-a-kind ceramic hooks when asked to make a hook for a design project. In the process of making them, I realized that, for me, a hook was more than a functional object; it held a deeper, more personal meaning. It can serve as a reminder that we are capable of being hooked into a position in society and in our lives. This is a hook housed in a piece of an old silk robe worn by my father, formerly a VP of Playboy Enterprises. The ceramic hook protrudes through a hole cut in the silk, suggesting a phallic symbol. It also conjures up a memory of growing up with my three brothers and three sisters, where it was okay for the boys to come to the table in their underwear, but the girls were told: “Ladies don’t sit in their underwear at the kitchen table. Go put some clothes on.” As a mother of a son and a daughter, I am inherently reminded of the critical awareness required to raise our daughter with the same equality and strength we give to our son. Along with the hook, there is a pocket where Ihave placed small sheets of paper and a pencil. I encourage women to write something that our male-dominated, patriarchal society has encouraged you to change. And then on the back side of the paper write what you would like to bring back that was changed from your original self.