Project premise

Brief: To create textile surfaces that pose a challenge to being discarded; that invite disintegration, are enhanced as they age, and develop a collection of artworks in the form of apparel/accessories.

 
“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?”

 Edgar Allan Poe

bone-yard (n.)

1.      A cemetery

2.      A place where the bones of wild animals accumulate

3.      An accumulation of discarded products, machinery, etc. prior to being broken up for scrap or otherwise disposed of. 

Visual concept - Mannequin bone-yard, a.k.a. a mausoleum of the undying

This concept originated from a comment on ephemeral human tendencies – the ability to treasure a possession, and just as easily discard it with the introduction of a newer or ‘better’ version. 

We live in a throw-away culture, where our possessions no longer hold the same value as it did in the past. All it takes is a rip, frayed edge or an indelible stain to push us to the point of “off with his head”. Everything has a life, a story. Plato believed that the physical world is a corrupted reflection of abstract ideals. What is the ‘beginning’ and the ‘end’? What happens to the ‘forgotten’? 

My interest in fashion and trend inspires me to believe that every garment has a story, and it comes to an undeserving end with the onset of a new trend. 

Author Carolina Cerimedo states that fashion would not be the global phenomenon it is today without its genesis in art. On that note, I want to explore textile surfaces through this project and create artworks, possibly in the form of garments that tell their own stories – of color, texture, music, flavour, history, and more. I am inspired by body art, and would look into body-extensions and the art of costume.

My final goal is an installation of these works ornamenting a “mannequin bone-yard”; showcasing their metaphoric death and challenging their assumed obsolescence. Everything is confined to a label, and I want to create something that cannot be easily stereotyped. Each piece would come from the streets; from real life experiences. And hopefully, the audience can make a few of their own.