Output details

Orinui, Of the Sea, Edge and Weave, Stitched Rhythm, Shell Fragment

A collection of 5 framed works (Of the Sea, Edge and Weave, Orinui, Stitched Rhythm, Shell Fragment) were selected by an international judging panel of curators and specialists to be shown as part of Craft Scotland’s presentation at the exhibition Collect in the Saatchi Gallery, London. The pieces each represent a technical and aesthetic examination of electroformed textiles.

This research draws a new link between electro deposition technology, normally used in precision engineering and the creation of a fusion material, synthesizing metal (fine silver) and textile. Using the principals of traditional Japanese resist dye Shibori with Electroforming, this research outlines how tacit knowledge from one discipline can be applied to another. The aesthetic and ductile nature of a textile is transformed when a substrate is electroformed. This research allows for very detailed structures to be created in a textile vernacular and electroformed into a rigid silver form, eliminating the tendency for fibre detail to be concealed under conductive paint. Retaining this detail even when the deposition of metal is enough to produce a self-supporting structure, allows for a greater breadth of application. The scope of this research was to create a rigid complex form in silver that revealed its previous textile aesthetic. Tests compared various substrate materials and textile structures (woven, non woven, knitted, stitched) technically and aesthetically. This body of research extends beyond the confines of this exhibition, including peer reviewed papers and solo exhibitions.

Collect is an exhibition comprising of selected international galleries, each showing a collection of peer reviewed, applied art objects. The exhibition is presented by the Crafts Council.