Innovo: Conventions Undone

 INNOVO Conventions Undone. An exhibition of Fashion and Textiles. June 10 - 15 at Nyisztor Studio, Melville, Western Australia.

The premise for the development of 'Innovo: Conventions Undone' is to showcase fashion as more than garment and challenge preconceived illusions through an investigation into the source of innovation; to examine the unique stimulus fuelling the design process which is brought to life through garment.

We aim to do this by presenting conceptually driven fashion forms that capture the viewer with not only material and technique, but an imperative need to understand the inspiration behind each design. This exhibition will focus on the presentation of works that explore the relationship between form, body and concept ultimately encouraging a deeper dialogue between viewer and installation.

 

Photos by Cordelia Gibbs

See more at the fashion catalyst and the INNOVO Facebook page

A Life in Wool

Wool

Shearing Shed

Lifestyle

The air is full of dust, suffocating heat glaring from the land and the structures built within. The dogs bark and the men shout along with the regular buzz of engine and clatter of sheep. The space is dotted with wool, a pungent smell of lanoline and ammonia sweep the floors. The workers are a flight of activity, movements repetitive and precise, amidst the disarray of tin, machine, pipe and wood.

The shearing shed stands as an iconic representation of Australia, a building in which poems have been inspired, stories shared and life shown at its most raw; where stress is high, work is hard and anything can happen. The shearing shed is the heart of the Australian sheep farm, whatever the heart may be enduring.

My work is an encapsulation of the character of the shearing shed in an expression of the workmanship, ideologies, lifestyle and culture of the Australian sheep farm. The garments are inspired by the architecture, the work clothes and the human value of the shed to create a level of sensibility toward and celebration of culture of the Australian wool producer.

Specious [Ovis’Aries L’Her]: A textiles investigation

How do people perceive the natural in a human space?

·        

      Expectation

·         Intrusion

·         Personal Space

For this work, I was interested in investigating the idea of ‘personal space’, and the perceptions we have towards the ‘natural’ when it is in this space. According to Bill Mckibben, author of “The end of Nature”, the connectedness of modern life means we no longer need to be aware of our connections with nature. “Human’s no longer see themselves as living in a conjunction with nature” and are “separate entities” (Schwarz, 2012). I feel as if the ‘natural’ is perceived by humans as something which is unknown, not produced and not entirely controlled by humans and therefore it is perceived as something to be wary of. In contrast to this, the ‘human’ space, as a separate entity, is a more comfortable space being something that is created or manipulated by humans and is therefore understandable, predictable and ‘safe’. When the ‘natural’ comes into the ‘human space’ there is a personal response; wariness, discomfort and a want to regain control. I wish to investigate this idea, evoking the viewer to question why this is. 

The aim of my work is to evoke a feeling of both discomfort and intrigue in the viewer. Firstly the viewer will be compelled to feel that ‘nature’ has taken over and soiled something that is meant to be, or originally was, human space. The viewer will perceive the work to be unsafe, dirty, smelly and unhygienic but feel intrigued by the materiality and shape of the work to inspect it further. From this inspection, the viewer will discover that it is lacking the stereotypes that were first noted. In this way, the role of the work is to challenge human perception and expectations regarding what are and what should be human/natural space and prompt to make the viewer question why they are separated?

The final installation was made from individual lengths textiles which where created using felt and dyed with tree bark. The pieces were developments from extensive research into felt including the form, shape and texture as well as the addition of elements both natural and man made; sticks, beads etc..   Disgusted? intrigued? 

Schwarz, E. 2012. The End of Nature; Humanitie’s Perception of Nature. Wordpress. http://blogs.dickinson.edu/humanplaceinnature/2012 Accessed May 3rd, 2013