Textile Society of America
Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings
Date of this Version
2024
Document Type
Presentation
Citation
Textile Society of America 2024 Symposium
Shifts & Strands: Rethinking the Possibilities and Potentials of Textiles, November 12-17, 2024, a virtual event
Abstract
What is it like to be at the intersection between the natural and technological? I see plants as living cloth – can we build cloth using human-evolved technology (weaving) and natural life systems? In this practice-as-research, I take growth models from plants such as algae, then process these codes on a loom to exploring the emergence and narrative that develop.
Looms are tools and technology evolved with humans to organise systems of strands, connecting in myriad ways to form something new. Plants are systems of organised cells, dividing and branching creating functional entities. The commonalities are individual elements and rules acting cumulatively upon the whole, evolving in emergent behaviour. By consciously asking the loom to connect, process and reflect on these commonalities, I am exploring deeper collaborative processes between human technology and nature.
In my presentation, I share ongoing research into plant growth modelling, artificial life systems, emergence, experiments, and artists exploring human/technology/plant relationships. I discuss how I transition plant models to code then overlay them with multilayering weave techniques. Combining these methods with plant-based, metal, and synthetic materials creates variable motion at the warp/weft connections, with unpredictable outcomes.
Using weaving as a research medium to explore the relationship, forms emerge hybridised, grown from natural evolution and evolved human technology, residing somewhere in between. As my concept evolves, I want to connect with other artists and researchers, contribute to building a supportive community, while continuing to question what it means to apply natural systems within our constructed environment.
Included in
Art and Materials Conservation Commons, Art Practice Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Fashion Design Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Museum Studies Commons, Place and Environment Commons
Comments
Published by the Textiles Society of America
Copyright 2024, the author. Used by permission