C&A:C&D

'Collection and Affection: Construction and Deterioration' - the tagline for my final year project at Duncan of Jordanstone.

1920s Altered Bra

Inspired by atists such as Hussein Chalayan, Caroline Broadhead, Alison Watt and Tim Harding and scenes of redundant, neglected belongings that I had avidly photographed, I set out to create a collection of textiles that posed question to our attitude towards fabric and cloth in this current 'disposable' society.

“Fabrics are taken for granted: there are some exceptions, European tapestries during the Renaissance, for example, but mostly, fabrics have a mundane function, and are an intimate part of people’s lives.  That led me to the precious aspects of clothing. Good clothes shouldn’t be stained, scorched or soiled; they need to be taken care of. The juxtaposition of preciousness and vulnerability.” (Tim Harding)

And so, my final year collection was a response to 'the juxtaposition between preciousness and vulnerability' of clothing and the treatment or mistreatment of garments within their intimate role. Beginning my research by photographing clusters of discarded objects in junkyards, recycling centres and charity shops, I found interest in the organic affection of metals – the damaging process of rusting and elemental wear and tear, and accidental collective compositions. C&A:C&D explores this vein of thought, concentrating in particular on the rusting process of fastenings, fixtures, tools and implements of construction embedded within a collection of vulnerable found garments and fabrics. Using industrial metals in the dyeing process and an assortment of found metal-based objects and fastenings, I hoped to illustrate the abuse and neglect of precious fabrics by showing the permanent (and for the most part, uncontrollable), blemishes made as a result of mistreatment. Exploration of other ‘abusive’ techniques led to more experimental techniques; burial, scorching and cutting by way of laser cutting fabrics in order to emulate the irreversible affection of rust and metal and expose weaker elements of the cloth.

Embellished Pieces:

Organic Prints/Dyes:

Singed/Burnt/Cut Natural Wool: