Impulsive Interactions

Bulbous shapes mixed with holes and stretch are impulsive interactions. However when interaction occurs my pieces are actually very awkward; forcing body contortion. The wearer is not sure how to interact and behave when its worn. My final pieces have an underlying function of helping back posture; representing my personal issues I have with my back posture due to being a very awkward/lanky person. As people interact with the garment they start to feel how I feel.

The way these sculptured bodies are awkwardly leaning on the wall makes me feel uncomfortable, even my own back feels achey just by looking at it?? Which is quite a difficult but interesting mood to be felt; just looking at the sculpture. In my own work this has influenced me to portray this mood when I do the photoshoot.  There is also something quite sad about the picture of children looking vulnerable. 

Contrasting element of research suggested by my peers during a crit. Furthermore linking my use of rubber gloves and holes however here its something which has to be done for safety and someones job maybe a bit less impulsive but more forcibly engaging. This idea of being forcibly engaging is a new concept I have not explored yet. The image also conveys a feeling of being distressed and trapped due to the uncomfortable latex gloves and perspex box with huge bolts holding it together.

My final outcome looks fun and playful maybe a bit cute due to the colour choice and organic shape. This makes you want to interact with it. However when worn it is actually very awkward you have to contort the body to put it on. Bulbous shapes mixed with stretch. The wearer is not sure how to interact and behave when its worn. However there is an underlying function of helping back posture; representing my personal issues I have with my back posture due to being a very long/ awkward/ lanky person. As people interact with the garment they start to feel how I feel.

This imagery is very similar to Hussain Chaylans work however here Hassinger is combining a given space with the body- something I have already been doing but here it looks a lot more specific to the space and developed considering how the body's are placed. The singular body's in particular seem to be positioned in stress positions; after holding these positions for a while your body would start to ache and give up.  This makes me begin to think of the context of this art piece are the people being pulled into the stress positions by the thin strips of translucent fabric which almost look like tights? I wonder if I develop my draping further instead by using lots of thin layers of fabric instead of big pieces. This way as you continue to layer the strips over each other new holes are created and knotting is very likely to occur. Going back to interaction what if all of your body parts had strips attached to them and if you move in a certain way knots start to join up creating a huge knitted piece. 

I found this photographers work particularly inspiring when doing my own photoshoot as he begins taking photos not just front on instead slightly to the side or from above. I would like to try and improve my photography angles pushing the boundaries even taking photos from a birds eye view? And the images feel like they have movement being thrown out of the image almost giving off a photoshopped look. It really exaggerates the movements these bodies are creating.

Inspired by how Yvonne Rainer intertwines the interaction of two bodies; could this be re-created experimenting with my own stretch jersey experiments? Even using the knitting machine to create my own stretched fabrics. The way Yvonne Rainer has placed the holes on the body suit pictured below makes me think if there is a purpose to them. Too many holes on a garment may make the wearer feel self conscious or two holes at the bottom of trousers would confuse someone... how do I put this on? As humans we are so used to the normality of clothing and how mundane it is to put our arms and heads through a jumper and feet into socks. Why can't clothing be like a game - working out what goes where?  I understand sometimes as a designer we have to be practical what if you were in a rush for work ? This would be such an exciting idea giving someone my final piece which is completely alien to them (with body extensions and holes everywhere) and telling them they have one minute to try and get it on. Would they work it out? Or would they find a completely different way to wear the piece of fabric?

So far all of my draping experiments have been of my own personal reaction with the fabrics I have suspended. Finding that draping on my own body and interacting with the work myself kept the muse of my draping to flow nicely something my peers mentioned worked well during group work. Here the idea of two people come into play could this bring a context into my work. Why are these two people being pulled apart or wrapped together? Is there a deeper meaning behind the work or is it simply the movements of two people bouncing off each other?  Do I begin to focus more on the person behind the garment imagine if two siblings, two lovers or two exes got into the garment with each other what different interactions would occur?

Here is a really clear example of how I could control what someone is feeling wearing my garment. By taking away a sense; other senses are elevated. 

This draping imagery in particular is very similar to the draping I have been doing recently however this work is a lot more minimal and  geometric shapes whereas mine are more asymmetric. The thick black tape is really inspiring and could work with my own draping blocking out shapes of the body underneath the fabric.

Continuing to vary my research on body contortion I was suggested to research into a new trend called suspended yoga; there was two types I discovered. One where the person uses a stretchy fabric to suspend from and create shapes; a very clear link to the draping experiments I have been doing. I also found yoga where you are suspended and use a hoop to help create body positions and stretch the back muscles- I am very intrigued to explore this in my sketchbook as the body contortion and the holes from the hoops still very much link however the structure of the hoop may inspire new draping ideas.

I decided to do some further research into Erwin Wurm's work after being so inspired by his contorted clothing imagery. These one minute sculptures where furniture has holes allow for body parts to poke through influencing my own ideas where I have been exploring at a smaller scale involving rubber glove fingers and tights.

Richard Malone's Rinse Repeat exhibit is an amazing example of how materials can interact with body and movement. The way they can be interchangeably worn allows for the wearer to use their imagination and really think about how a garment is worn something you often don't have to think of when trying on a normal jacket etc pushing the wearer to think differently. When dancers begin to move in the garments you also get to experience how jersey can stretch to track your movements.

As I had begun discussions of further research into impulses specifically how someone will feel an Impulse to interact with my final outcome I began looking on the library database for books but came up blank. Therefore I had to create some of my own research for impulses. Making a list of impulses suggested by my family I performed and filmed these above. I found it quite interesting to feel the satisfaction of relieving the anxiety of impulses which most of the time you cannot do in a normal situation like smashing an egg.

“We willingly push any and every button because we hope that it provides a bit of dopamine for pleasure,”  “Or at least, it reduces the cortisol that is making us anxious—until we see what pressing it means. In general, the more we’re told not to do something, the more we want to do that thing"

 The ideas of impulse came after a conversation with new tutor Amy, what makes us want to push that red button or touch something without thinking?. An impulse is something we feel we have to act on and something we feel we have to do. When researching into interactions and how my samples become interactive they also need to make the viewer or wearer want to interact with it so it becomes an impulse. This felt like a really interesting route to go down exploring my sample ideas I cut a hole in the jersey and instantly I wanted to put my hand in it allowing for interaction; what if I stitched a glove onto the end of this hole or some tights. How would a stranger interact with this?

Visiting Balkas exhibit for me was truly fascinating; something so simple but vast made me stare at heated corrugated iron for 20 minutes. "That’s Balka’s greatest trick: turning something as simple as a sheet of corrugated iron into a tool of oppression and a trigger of memory and trauma. The longer you’re around it, the more it affects you, and the more you want to leave." Being tricked by a piece of iron does feel quite humiliating but it does work! I specifically visited the exhibit for its interactive qualities being able to feel the heat, sit next to it and listen to the slight hum it exuded. This idea of interaction links with my current research "interaction creating a reaction" where my samples are creating a physical reaction here Balka is creating a much more mental reaction.

Quote Resource and Review of exhibit: https://www.timeout.com/london/art/miroslaw-balka-random-access-memory-review

"Japanese artist Atsuko Tanaka wearing her piece Electric Dress, during a performance and exhibition in 1956. Organised by the Gutai Group, an avant Garde artists movement to which she belonged until 1965"

Another example of interaction on a large scale. Made to look like blades of grass the children become ants digging and exploring their way through the tough but soft green finger like protrusions. This makes the interaction with an object fun and creates a joyful mental reaction similarly to Miroslaw Balks exhibit instead Balkas end reaction is something quite uncomfortable. I also enjoyed this rich green colour which supported the artists inspiration of grass making it much easier to understand for someone viewing the exhibit. 

• I struggle with my posture as being tall I am constantly hunching over my desk while working. While trying to find coding books at the library instead I found an ergonomics book which could be an interesting element of research to add a personal touch to my project. Considering how once I work out how etextiles work I would need a purpose for them so it does not turn gimmicky. This may be the line of research I could continue on for that use/function. Would the knitting stretch when you slouch alerting you to sit up straight? 

• Inspired originally by the teddy bear hacked video games and coding charity I came across Emelie Giles an etextile artist.
• I was immediately excited by the prospects of this technology linked with senses, the idea that a piece of fabric could imitate your movements into drawings and graphs. It gives me a feeling of technology taking over an interesting concept to think of in future research.
• This way it combines a new technique of coding with a more traditional technique of weaving. Materials used in the weaving could push the boundaries in what graphs were created for example looser fibrous fuzzy wool is more reactive than a tighter less fibrous wool.

• Exploring feminist sculpture artist Helen Chadwick and literally showing how women could be expected to be chained to the kitchen. As I have been exploring coding and how there has been a drive to get more girls to code is there a literal way I could represent this movement like Helen Chadwick?

• At the V&A Design/Play/Disrupt exhibit I was particularly inspired by the Feminist Frequency stand looking into how women are viewed when playing video games and in video games. This could link to the movements we need to research inspired by the word "surrounding" however I would need to do more research into how this idea could be expressed in a creative outlet.  
• When at the Design/Play/Disrupt exhibit I read about a group called feminist frequency who have a blog talking about women in the gaming industry. As women are often objectified and are not the main characters in games. 
• I felt that this movement was really relevant to my current research after looking into the coding and cables.
• This charity research felt very empowering to read as I have always noticed the lack of main female characters but never properly researched into the effects it has. This has inspired me to do further research into feminist artists and girl coding groups.

• "Girls Who Code aims to change that. The 6-year-old program strives to create welcoming spaces for girls interested in programming and close the gender gap in tech. The nonprofit has hosted thousands of incoming 11th and 12th grade girls across the country through its annual Summer Immersion Program since 2012. "
• https://www.cnet.com/news/girls-who-code-encourages-young-women-in-stem-one-coding-class-at-a-time/

• When researching charities for outwards research I looked back at my digital footprint research and this reminded me of the money I donate to Unicef. Therefore I thought this would be the best place to start in terms of research and finding ways they create a creative outlet. 
• Children have been taught to re-create toys the Unicef workers donate. I loved discovering the techniques and materials they used to make the toys including rubber bands and socks.

• Inspired particularly by this oversized teddy bear which looked like it had been hacked; a computer screen attached to its belly. 
• This has also given me ideas for textile samples either creating my own samples or finding found objects to add electronics too. Bringing an element of sustainability into my work something that as a young designer I need to constantly consider.

• To  create an INTERVENTION I decided to go to an exhibit at the V&A that I would not normally be interested in going to; the Design/Play/Disrupt exhibit is all about gaming and the history of gaming. It was surprisingly really exciting and felt refreshing to learn something new.
• The last room in particular was about DIY games where people had used found objects and repurposed them into games this was also very inspirational making me want to have a go myself.

• The plants here which are made out of lego. In particular the blocks reminded me of pixels when you zoom into an image too much and it becomes blurry.
• This idea of pixelation reminds me of the technological and futuristic themes I have been exploring so far.