To kick off the launch
of Unit X we visited the ‘sunny’ seaside resort of Blackpool as a year group.
This marked the beginning of our research, and was an opportunity to gather
resources alongside our fellow peers. Overall I found the trip quite
uninspiring; Blackpool was slightly drab and dead, and I struggled to find much
visual information I would be happy to get my teeth into. I still took photos
of as much as I could knowing that on reevaluation of the images something
could pop up which inspired me. The highlight of the trip however was found in
‘Treasure Cove’ (a tacky, garish amusements arcade), amidst the flash and jazz,
a vintage style fortune teller ‘Zoltar’ struck my attention. After a few sneaky
snaps and a reading of my future (for a mere £1) I was on my way back to
Manchester. I don’t think Blackpool will influence my Archives project, but I
am interested in the Zoltar machine.
As part of of the launch
of Unit X, we had the opportunity to attend a series of ‘Inspirer’ talks, two
speakers in particular got me thinking about the potential of our practices. DJ
Dave Haslam was the first; telling us about his exciting life at the forefront
of the Manchester rave scene during the 80s & 90s, he is an advocate for living
life ‘out on the margines’ of society and the importance of young creatives,
sick of spoon fed mainstream culture, to seek out and create our own hidden
gems. Our maverick nature and D.I.Y. approach are our weapons. The second was
Sally Denton, a trend forecaster, gave us an intriguing insight and perspective
of ‘trends’, how global and social change are what are the catalysts for trends
within textiles, fashion and art. This has got me thinking about the potential
of our ‘pop-up project’ and possibilities of ‘Trend Forecasting’ for the future
within my own practice.
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