What you take off isn’t always gone (Skin textile investigations I, II & III) 2012 Drawings; conte on mylar, foot, forton casting, video, lights.
The evidence left on our skin throughout the day from the textiles we wear speak volumes. The texture of our clothing become imprints on the surface if our bodies. Between our bodies and our clothing lies a moldable barrier. On this border lies a stamp of the remnants of our daily movements. The friction become markings and dents on the skins surface. These imprints disappear in minutes leaving the skin to iron it’s self out naturally. The red markings certain garments leave on your body are like mappings of body movements and stresses throughout the day. I’d like to look at the relationship our bodies have with clothing on our skins surface. Tightness, time lapse, rubbing, etchings. Our garments protect our skin but they also leave evidence. The tighter the garment the length of time it has been the redder the deeper and longer the wear.
I am intrigued with this evidence of wear and how our skin repairs itself and researching clothing and textiles beyond the actual cloth. Instead looking at what clothing does in relation to the body.
Sweat and tear(s)2011 wool yarn, machine knit garment, hand knit garment and video
What is our understanding of the production process?
Machine made goods vs. hand made, Sweat
& Tear(s) explores the construction and deconstruction of a garment
involving the viewer. The participation allows us to question what we think
about labor and production. Our personal connection with garments and labor are
explored through interaction. She associates the knitted dress to the women whom
often dominate the production process in the garment manufacturing. The artist
finds a personal connection in women in her family; her mother & aunts were once all part of
the garment industry in it’s most lucrative years
Machine of love and Grace 2010-11 interactive installation Cotton dress, rigeline boning, sequins & thread.
I invite you in, exposing myself to you. Inside you will see my seams, my skin, my bones, my flesh This is not an empty shell but a documentation of time and love That who has made me has left her mark with her needle, hand and by machine. Part of her is here with me, That is how I exist I invite you in.
Dress structure hung with video projection of a sewing machine working loudly speeding up and slowing down. Viewer can view piece from outside or stand inside the structure.
Machine of love and Grace, relates to the every day clothing production and consumerist ideas embedded in modern society. The dress is associated to the women whom often dominate the production process in the garment manufacturing. It exposes the construction of a garment, which can be viewed inside and outside. Once inside, the seams and bones of the structure are exposed. Having the viewer become immersed in the spirit of the dress allows the piece to communicate a connection to its construction. This becomes a unique collaborative moment between wearer and the laborer. The video projected onto the dress, an image of a large sewing machine showing the mechanism moving up and down along with the pounding sound of the machine accelerating and slowing down. The movement is aggressive and immerses the viewer in the world of production. Respect for the handmade is a concept that we risk to lose and by investigating the complications found in the industrialized world I believe we must bring the body back into play. In this piece the intentions of fast, cheap garment productions are explored. The structure creates a personal space for the viewer to become immersed in the garments fascinating mechanical yet poetic environment.
Crisis weaving 2010 Painted warp, cotton weaving.
Now and then, sales pitch 2010 Cyano type on cotton, embroidery machine sewing, rug hooking with recycled textiles.
