Goya Hogarth Exhibition Meet

Another weekend, another meetup. Actually, all of a sudden there were loads of things happening last weekend – like the Rose Marie Seoir tea party in London and the Sheffield Film and Comic Con. However, since I knew about this meetup for much longer, as well as thought it best to do something a little more chill the weekend before Dublin, off I went to Manchester to see the exhibition of prints by Francisco Goya and William Hogarth.

| Alice and the Pirates Rosier Fleur JSK | Infanta Swan Lake blouse | Shinku
Rose Tulle Overdress | Alice and the Pirates Arabesque OTKs | everything
else is offbrand | 

Kept my makeup very natural, although I did wear false eyelashes (not that
this photo shows them off in any way).

My initial idea was to try a gothic coord in all-white. In the process I realised just how much white gothic relies on cuts and that everything I own is either too classic or too sweet. So instead I decided to put together all the pieces I haven’t worn out yet: the AatP Rosier Fleur JSK, the kokoshnik headdress and the tulle overdress from Shinku Rose. This was also the first time in literally years when I had my hair left straight and parted in the centre, like it naturally wants to do – in general. Normally this would make me feel super anxious, but with the kokoshnik on I just felt ridiculously connected to my Slavic heritage (even though kokoshnik is a Russian headdress, not Polish) and even jokingly said that if someone asks why I’m dressed like this, I’d tell them that I’m a Russian mail order bride.

To be honest, when I put this coord together, I wasn’t thinking much beyond this. However, the response I received already on social media (Instagram and Closet of Frills) has been so overwhelmingly positive, that I’m genuinely shocked. Reading the lovely comments that people have left was both elating and humbling. If you were one of those people – thank you so much! It will probably be some time still before I’m truly over it (although I don’t want to be over it).

The meet itself had a bit of a rocky start. Before I even set off the organiser said that she couldn’t make it as she fell ill, and then another person said the same thing. However, there were still a few people marked as going, so I set off. It takes me about an hour on the train to get to Manchester, which isn’t the worst journey (it was a direct train too), but the gallery was on the opposite end, so I decided to catch a bus. It wasn’t until then that my phone caught some 4G and I could see that a handful of people went somewhere else to eat – and not until I actually got to the gallery that it turned out they weren’t coming to the gallery at all! Luckily, in the few minutes of indecision it turned out that one other person was already at the gallery too, and another one soon joined us. And when I messaged my boyfriend in that fleeting moment of anxiety at being the only one who did what they were told to, he offered to come to my rescue, which was incredibly sweet of him. So all in all, it was good in the end and having spent few hours in fantastic company, I can now move on from the trauma of that first half hour in Manchester last Saturday.

The exhibition was absolutely fantastic! My knowledge of Hogarth was literally non-existent and I know only one painting by Goya, The Third of May 1808, which I learnt about in school. The exhibition focused more on the prints, etchings and engravings by both artists, which were often heavily political commentaries and criticism of the world around them. It was fascinating to see how both artists had absolutely wild imagination (especially Goya, his art was often more paranatural, whereas Hogarth’s leaned more into caricature) and also how relevant many of their works still were. Granted, none of us had much knowledge of art and art theory, so we amused ourselves by narrating what was happening on these prints, nonetheless I found many pieces that I genuinely liked and have a newfound appreciation for William Hogarth in particular.

This one I dubbed 'The Afterparty. By William Hogarth,

By William Hogarth,

I feel like I've seen this one before, though wouldn't have
been able to identify it as Goya's on the spot.
Also, I promise I took other photos of his work, but they
all turned out blurry.
By Francisco Goya.

Me being amused that in 1763 Hogarth had a pug named
Trump. It was ugly too.

The 'I Said No Portraits' pose that all lolitas know too well. By William Hogarth.

Goth kitten is goth. By William Hogarth.

After this we decided that food was in order and went to the gallery café. The food there was definitely nice, albeit definitely on the artsier/more artisan and therefore pricier side. After realising that a bowl of soup and a slice of brownie would set me back £7, I very quickly opted out of a hot drink and stuck to water, which was free. Having said this, the weather was pleasant – overcast, but warm – so we sat outside and chatted about anything and everything. It later turned out that for one of them this was her first lolita meet ever, so I’m all the happier that she had a good time (and it wasn’t even my meet!). After this we took some photos and casually strolled down Oxford Road, continuing the chatter, until we reached Oxford Road train station, where we parted ways.

As someone who’s used to large comm meets, I’m always grateful for the opportunity to take part in a smaller, more intimate one. It’s a shame that the rest of the people decided not to go to the gallery in the end, but I had lots of fun with the two other girls. Hopefully I’ll see them both again soon.

For now, all my attention is directed towards Dublin! Though now that this meet’s outfit set the bar so high, I am worried if what I planned for this will live up to expectations. It’d be just a tad awkward when your ‘I want to wear new things’ outfit beats the one you spent months planning and prepping, and aiming for that tea party OTT level, wouldn’t it? :P