Fabricating Intimacy: Reducing Subliminal Distances Between People and Textiles

Abstract

In our age, the fast, technological production of cloth and resulting overconsumption can appear as a nihilistic force. At an ever accelerating rate, industrial production distances us from our formerly intimate connection with textile making and the raw materials from which they are created. As we witness the progressive onslaught of overconsumption and the consequences brought about by its collateral side effects, many designers contemplate ways and means for change. As a counter ploy to mass production I explore ways to invoke a human connection and authenticity into technological textile production in order to participate in a cultural realignment of attitude towards textile consumption. Driving towards small shifts in end user perception by incorporating handwork, gesture and emotion; textile design intentionally becomes a political act. Through interrogating, intimacy, indexicality, tactility and by creating work that is idiosyncratic rather than deliberately created for bulk manufacturing, I seek a deeper response to the created textiles. The intention is to be part of a dynamic evolution towards change in the way we produce and use cloth.