HANDMADE VS. DIGITAL
My practice primarily explores the relationship between the handmade and the digital. This originates from the idea that there is always a return to textiles and craft as a reaction to major transformations in society. From the industrial revolution of the 19th century to the proliferation of mass market production and consumerism in the 60s and 70s, there is once again, in present day, another resurgence with the huge and rapid advances in modern technology dictating quotidian life. More specifically, I am interested in the relationship between the digital world and the handmade, how the escalation in digital technology has impacted our perceptions of the world as well as how we interact physically with the world.
I use textiles, not only because it is a medium I enjoy using, but also because it represents the tactility that the digital world so lacks. It is supposed today that we may encounter more images in a single day than previous cultures would have ever experienced in their entire lifetimes. The omnipresent dissemination of digital technology persists and will continue to provide an opposing menace to our perception of the world as well as how we immerse ourselves within it.
Digital technology has become even more vital in the light of the current global situation with COVID-19; it has been indisputably integral in keeping us informed and connected. I am not doubting the importance of digital technology in a situation such as this, but I must admit I find it ironic that this exhibition will now only go ahead digitally given the subject of my work. I must also make it explicit that I am not trying to criticise the only thing that is seemingly keeping the world afloat at present, I am simply commenting on how the digital world may affect how we perceive the world. Perhaps this time will highlight the importance of real-life interactions and more specifically, maybe this virtual exhibition will demonstrate the benefits of viewing and experiencing art in reality.
Presently, I am working with leather and embroidery to further explore the importance of the tactile in my practice. The use of leather refers to the skin which is of course so imperative to the sense of touch. With the hand in particular being the most receptive part of the organ, it is the point of contact between the immaterial self vessled within the material body and the outside world.
As Bertrand Russell states, ‘it is touch that gives us our sense of “reality”.’ Much of my current work concerns itself with the sense of touch because tactility contributes to an alternative approach enabling us to parry the potential damaging impact of advancing technologies and to consider our being in the present reality of spacetime.