Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Untitled - Window Box Installation

A collaboration between Mell Kyriakidis, Sven Simulacrum and Michaela Davies at Medium Rare


I never liked Cabbage Patch Dolls so this one made me smile...

I stumbled across this scenic window display while running some errands on the weekend and found the ghoulish toy sacrifice just too sweet, adorable and humorous to ignore adding it to my list of must see neighbourhood treasures. Medium rare is one space, dedicated to the avant-garde, experimental work and the independent arts community, worth following!

12 - 30 December 2009
Free (to look through the window)
Medium Rare Gallery and Studio
70 Regent Street
Redfern NSW 2016
http://www.mediumrare.net.au/

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Fashioning Now: Changing the Way We Make and Use Clothes


...well the milk crate is still up in the tree another month later...and I have added no more words to this blog. Now the panic of guilt has made me succumb to beating out an apology to Timo Rissanen... and a heartfelt farewell to an enterprising and great creative thinker!


Timo Rissanen shirt and leggings, image © Silversalt Photography

I was privileged enough to receive an invitation to the University of Technology Sydney VIP fashion shows scheduled as part of the end of year fashion and textile expo of student projects. Visiting UTS I realised this was a HUGE undertaking and the parades were but a small part of an overwhelming display of the State of Design (borrowing the Victorian design festival moniker), promoting the faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, DAB student portfolios for 2009. The parades themselves were seamless in production, exquisitely atmospheric and the ingenuity of the fashion abundant. This made me reflect on the DAB faculty and the creativity I’ve seen there also in a recent exhibition Fashioning Now curated and produced by UTS staff.

The exhibition showed 9 artists under the broad thematic areas of “source, make, use and last”. The overall investigation pulling the artists together was sustainable philosophy and practice in fashion design today. While across all areas of culture we are now coming to debate and investigate sustainable and environmental solutions, I must admit I was sceptical about what the fashion industry was contributing in this area.

Thankfully this exhibition opened my eyes to some ingenious solutions and practices, from polymer research developing biodegradable fabrics, to Timo Rissanen’s perfectly formed “0: waste” philosophy in pattern making. Rissanen’s intricate and spectacular pattern illustrations epitomised the aims and objectives of the exhibition. They spoke a language beyond ‘fashiony’ fashion and more about how a garment holds its intrinsic value through the design and fabrication, utilising every scrap of fabric to prevent landfill waste, as well as encompassing a facility for alteration. Just as Issey Miyake garments stand the test of time, the exhibition promoted the raise en d’ĂȘtre of ‘quality not quantity’ in a number of the displays.
 
Alex Martin, a performance artist, showed another novel approach to anti-waste and an alternative to the high volume turnover in the fashion industry in her ‘Fashion Detox Diet’. Her whimsical project involved wearing a brown dress for all 365 days in the year, a thought provoking response to the throwaway culture of fashion. You can see more about the little brown dress project here.
 
Reflecting on this exhibition and the recent DAB end of year student shows, I look forward to other ground breaking programs from the University of Technology through 2010. Unfortunately (but fortunate for him) Timo Rissanen leaves the UTS to take up a lecturing position with Parsons the New School for Design in New York. His passion, creativity and forward thinking will no doubt be missed in the Sydney fashion and academic circles.
 
Farewell and good luck to a true talent!

UTS Gallery (University of Technology Sydney)
Level 4, 702 Harris Street Ultimo
Monday – Friday 12-6pm
8 July – 28 August 2009
http://www.fashioningnow.com/
Curated by Alison Gwilt and Timo Rissanen
(Design Architecture and Building Faculty) DAB
Exhibition tours to Fremantle Arts Centre mid 2010