CONCEPT

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MY IDEAS FOR THIS PROJECT INITIALLY CAME FROM THE POEM “THE WAKING” BY THEODORE ROETHKE. TO ME, THIS POEM  REFLECTED SUCH A DEEP PERCEPTION OF A JOURNEY/ A DIRECTION OR THE DIFFERENT ROUTES WE TAKE IN LIFE. IT SHOWS HOW WE LEARN AND GROW THROUGH THE CONTINUATION OF OUR DEVELOPMENT AND THE MANY PATHS WE TAKE AND CHANGES WE ENCOUNTER ALONG THE WAY. WHAT RESONATED WITH ME THE MOST HOWEVER, IS HOW THIS UNDERLYING IDEA OF SURVIVAL IS PORTRAYED IN SUCH A CALM MANNER  “ I LEARN BY GOING WHERE I HAVE TO GO.” THIS IN PARTICULAR MADE ME CONSIDER HOW DEEP AND SUBCONSCIOUS OUR NATURAL INSTINCTS TO SURVIVE ARE AND HOW THEY’VE DEVELOPED INTO MODERN DAY. THERE IS A CLEAR AND PERHAPS OBVIOUS UNDERSTANDING ABOUT OUR DESIRES TO STAY ALIVE, BUT IT ISN’T ALWAYS AN IMMEDIATE THREAT IN COMPARISON TO WHAT OUR ANCESTORS EXPERIENCED LIVING DAY TO DAY HOPING TO MAKE IT TO THE NEXT. 

 

TODAY, MANY OF US NO LONGER HAVE THAT SURVIVAL STRESS THAT REFLECTS THIS SENSE OF WILDERNESS, WHICH IS WHERE MY MIND TENDS TO GO TO WHEN CONSIDERING THIS IDEA. I LINKED OUR PAST PERCEPTIONS OF SURVIVAL IN THE WILD TO SOMETHING MORE CONVENTIONAL SUCH AS SOCIAL SURVIVAL, WHICH SEEMS TO BE THE KIND WE EXPERIENCE TODAY. THERE IS A DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL SURVIVAL OR SOCIAL RULES WHEREVER YOU GO IN THE WORLD AND COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING ACCEPTED OR NOT. WE ACT AND DRESS IN CERTAIN WAYS IN ORDER TO FIT INTO CULTURES AND SOCIETIES AND CLOTHING HAS BEEN AND STILL IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN EVERYONES LIFE. GARMENTS HAVE GONE FROM BEING WORN IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, TO NOW WHERE THEY NOT ONLY PROTECT, BUT ALSO REFLECT AN IMAGE OR UNDERSTANDING OF AN ENVIRONMENT. 

 

I WANTED TO FIND A WAY TO BLEND THESE TWO WORLDS OF THE PAST AND PRESENT BY EXPLORING BOTH REPRESENTATIONS OF SURVIVAL. I DECIDED TO TAKE A CAMPING TRIP IN THE WINTER OF 2014 TO EXPERIENCE FIRST HAND HOW I COULD SUBCONSCIOUSLY AND CONSCIOUSLY REACT TO THESE CONDITIONS, WHAT I WOULD NEED TO WEAR AND WHAT NEW UNDERSTANDINGS I COULD UNCOVER. WHAT I FOUND WAS AN ENDLESS SUPPLY OF TEXTURES AND COLOUR, A BETTER IDEA OF HOW TO INSULATE MYSELF AND AN IMMEDIATE NEED TO BE ALERT IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. I PRINTED IMAGES ON A DIGITAL POLAROID CAMERA AND TOOK SAMPLES OF COLOURS AND TEXTURES WHEREVER I WENT SO I COULD DOCUMENT AS I TRAVELED. MANY OF THE FABRICS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO MATCH CERTAIN TEXTURES AND COLOURS I FOUND IN NATURE. I USED AS MANY NATURAL FIBRES AS POSSIBLE TO CREATE A GENUINE THEME FOR THIS COLLECTION.