Thursday, 26 January 2012

Dissolving fabric experiments

Going back to the notion of disappearance, I have discovered a material used for strengthening fabric during embroidery, which dissolves in water.  To see how this works and whether it could be useful in my work I made a mitten shape out of the material and filmed the suspended form dissolving.



The experiment was successful so I tried it again on a larger scale - making a form of similar size and shape to that of the cardigans I have been working with.  The cotton used to sew the pieces together prevents the dissolvable fabric from falling off in one big lump, it also means remnants of the form are left behind once the main body has dissolved.

As the experiments progressed, I began to focus upon the filming of the shadow rather than the object its self - the demise of the garments became more 'affective' when viewed in this representational form, hinting at happenings which are out of view and employing the power of the imaginary space.

  Film stills: The dissolving garment