Description
In the latter part of the 19th century my great-grandfather, a middle-class white man, immigrated to Aotearoa/New Zealand as part of a colonial influx that rapidly destroyed the indigenous environment and culture. The British Crown gave him 10 years to transform the densely forested and ‘unproductive’ land he purchased into grass-covered pasture using a brutally effective method known as ‘slash and burn’. In his letters to his sister and mother in UK, he wrote of the ravaged landscape: “It is a fearful sight I think. Great trees blackened and split with the fire, rearing their heads up so gaunt and bare, laying about the ground in such a jumble you cannot conceive. To look from the bush to the clearing is a contrast. In the bush the tree palms and all the things green and beautiful. And then the clearing. You can see the hand of man and the march of civilisation”.We often look back at the destruction of ecosystems and displacement of indigenous cultures that occurred in horror. However, the eurocentric worldviews of ownership, conformity, and ‘civilisation’ that justified this destruction, are still active and perpetuated in contemporary societies, governments, industries, research endeavours and design practices - despite knowing these perspectives are no longer fit for purpose. In the massively complex and globalised textile and fashion industry the gulf between what we do, and what we know, is perhaps especially evident. Sitting alongside an industry which remains driven by individuality, exploitation, overconsumption and waste, is an extensive 40-year discourse that has argued for the sustainable transition our material world through decentering ourselves, collective action, and a renegotiation of our perspectives and expectations of materials. In response, my research critically addresses the systems that clothe the body and our environment, taking a holistic, post-anthropocentric, and material-driven approach to design, making and use practices, across material, interaction, and ecological scales. This approach requires deep collaboration and a common understanding that can only be achieved if the materials, tools, methods and perspectives are open to all who wish to engage with these sometimes difficult practices and the conversations that surround them. Furthermore, radical systems transformation requires not only new understandings of material and technology, but also the willingness to confront and question ourselves. These perspectives are largely unwelcomed in the industry, but, perhaps if we ‘stay with the trouble’ long enough - personally, collectively and collaboratively - we can find new approaches that serve us all, and hope.
| Period | 16 Feb 2023 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Commons in Design |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Basel, SwitzerlandShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |