Unit X - Research - Week 2

This week began with a trip to the People’s History Museum as part of our Archives research. I found the excursion very interesting as Ive always had a love for history, yet, similar to Blackpool it was quite difficult to gather information. Most of the exhibits were literature heavy, but I found myself spending a majority of the trip on the ‘Banners’ floor. Naturally, as a textiles student my mind is orientated to fabric and colour; the collection of political and protest banners in the museum is awe inspiring to any practitioner of fabric and any human with a social conscience. Banners from Labour campaigns, to Miner strikes and LGBT issues got me thinking about the depth ‘cloth’ can reach. Cloth can be a key tool in social change as symbols and colour can entice inspiration. The monolithic curtains of fabric also got me thinking about how cloth can be used to dictate a space, and how we as people interact and utilize a piece of fabric dependent on its established context.

Worker Union Banner

Tuesday saw us gather as the Pop Up Class where we each had an opportunity to present our ideas with the intention of establishing groups. I was very much inspired by the D.I.Y. culture of DJ Dave and was inspired by the work of artist Linder Sterling, and using quite unconventional materials to create our space. After what felt like a chaotic session of 'speed dating' our groups were established. I feel the whole process of making the groups was very haphazard and quite ‘cliquey’, however we have a strong group of talent as I have been in these girls class all year and although we each have very different styles, approaches and interests, we know each others strengths and weaknesses, which should come in handy for working collaboratively.

DIY research, mark making and possible asthetic

We hope to achieve a space that evokes a sense of comfort and safety for the audience. We are currently developing ideas potentially for a gallery context with some form of interactive art, which engages the viewer. We agree that we want the viewer to leave something behind or take something from our space; perhaps a trade of some sort, physically, emotionally or spiritually.

sellotape experiment, web

sellotape experiment, structure applying roll of tape on to itself

Engaged in the idea of something being left behind by the viewer, we have been looking at absorbent structures such as sponge in the hopes our space will absorb and then keep something from the viewer, in turn changing the overall piece with each new visit. We have began playing with Sellotape as a possible material to construct our space as it is sticky and very cheap. We are playing with the idea of a fingerprint or piece of hair being left or entrapped on the tape by the viewer, leaving a piece of DNA behind and therefore creating an ‘Archive’ of our own.