Studio 16: A Material World Dissertation Studios 2020–21

Gina Pierce

This studio will take the Madonna song title from back in 1985 quite literally and show our dependence on materials as vital to our daily lives. The very ubiquity of our clothing and domestic textiles means that we underestimate their importance as objects in a monetary, practical and philosophical sense.

We will look at the value placed on textiles and re-examine their role in our lives by starting with the meaning and significance of material artefacts, and how they can give us a greater understanding of our culture and times. Researching into the context of the design and manufacture of textiles connects to issues of identity, wellbeing, memory and consumption. Material as object, garment, furnishing, art, can explore how textiles are embedded in our cultural traditions and give us insight into ourselves and our society.

This is an opportunity, if you wish, to use your own practice to demonstrate how it connects to part of a greater tradition of making, with significance that goes beyond the physical objects.

We will be using online and physical resources to examine how the material artefact informs us, and how as practitioners, you will use your understanding of making as the starting point for further inquiry.