PROPOSAL/OUTCOMES: Death and Decay

The exploration of Mass burials and genocide in relation to the studio Death and decay has given some key words:

Continuality – of grief

Community

Systematic / Uniformity

Layers – hidden? Personality

Unidentifiable (bodies and spirits)

This project has shifted away from the initial mass burial research and is focused on the textile influence from the soluble outcome. Although there are still elements from the earlier work that has been carried through all of my experiments.

FROM THAT - I have focused on creating layers of a garment to essentially create an artifact or sculpture through the process of manipulating the outer layer(soluble). This will inform the collection in conjunction to my research into:

• How two layers or garments can become one garment – different textiles working together to form one end sculpture or garment.
• Looking at technique and fabrication for the undergarment – how does this work directly with the soluble? Can this harden and hold after changing the outerlayer. Some fabrics may take form better than others? Can the soluble fabric c-exist with the undergarment without being seen after dissolving? This would give a better finish to the piece (even if the hand became stiff.
• How a body or shape can mold a garment from the inside – such as bones or a box.

However each garment (there will be 3) will have:

GARMENT COMPONENTS:

1^st Garment – This has two layers that make up this piece.

1. The overgarment - this is derived from the research into mass graves and uniformity. As a community is turned into a slave labor camp and people become numbers,, nothing separates a one from another. Using this idea to create overgarments that are bleak, systematic structures that hide the personality which is apparent in the garment below. The textures and colour beneath the overgarment are unknown to the onlooker but only the wearer.
2. The undergarment or hidden garment – This is a garment that is the under-layer. Research into fabrics and their relationship with the dissolvable will determine shapes and detail.
3. The object or ‘body’ – The garment will work with this to create a sculpture and either become a part of the end ‘garment’ or just inform identity.

Process: Dissolving and Manipulation – This is the process of molding and allowing the garment form one piece rather than co-existing pieces.

• The Overgarment dissolves, but not completely, into a moldable layer that starts to interact with the Undergarment and the object or body that is beneath. Fabrics, shapes and textures become apparent in this process.
• This is a process that will be documented at the time through photographs and film for the 2^nd garment to be understood comprehensively, as this process is fast.

2^nd garment: The Artifact or Sculpture – What is created through the combination or layers or garments.

The garment becomes one piece where the dissolvable fabric has interacted and set with the undergarment, this also shows the object or human remains through the shape of the artifact. This could be set with the object or taken away from the object.

• There were some key components from the initial cultural research and burial garment that has influenced how my research and design development as shaped:
• Continuality of garments – this isn’t necessarily a known physical tie like the burial garments but is apparent through fabric bonds, this could be soluble or rope of some sort.
• The hidden garment – pieces have two or more layers with a bleak outer layer that becomes a façade for the
• Colour Palette - Using a monochromatic palette that will work with the plain outerlayer, however textures and material themselves will be predominate in the collection. Tones of white will be dominate through the research and some green/black tones (possibly)
• Objects or shapes – these are what the garment is placed on and essentially forms the molding