What really is a shirt that is hanging in your closet? Is it instant warmth and comfort? Or is it really an amalgam of fiber molecules? Or is it actually a complex system of global trade, agricultural politics, farming traditions, and the detailed labor of a young woman's hands on the other side of the world? Can the truth of a shirt really fit into a space as small as your closet?
Changing Clothes is an ongoing project that investigates the politics and ecology of clothes by focusing on specific issues through a series of sculptures that explore the everday world of producing, wearing, and discarding clothes. These sculptures are:
- Conceptual and Finely Crafted: For example, the first sculpture "Wear/Where" is made from maps from all over the world that are cut into thin strips, woven together, and sewn into a shirt.
- Participatory and Educational: The second sculpture "Care Instructions" involves a public info booth and "changing room" where passers-by are invited to exchange their shirt tags for ones that say, "I wonder who made this shirt?". The collected tags will then be sewn into a garment for exhibition.
- Journalistic and Scholarly: Another sculpture will be based on field research and a review of literature on the politics of the cotton industry. To determine the form of the sculptured garment, I will interview farmers and study industry stats.
What is a social sculpture?
The Changing Clothes project defines social sculpture as a work of art that engages the social realm in multifaceted ways: its content matter, the process of creation, and the very medium in which the artwork is composed. The "sculpture" might consist of paper, fabric, or plants, but it is also composed of relationships, conversations, and actions that take place outside the museum.
Get involved!
Do you have an interesting project idea or story about clothes that you would like to share? Please pass it along via email and also let me know if you would like to receive periodic updates on the project.
The Changing Clothes project will produce a series of sculptures and educational exhibits for diverse venues (museums, clothing stores, trade shows, industry conferences, etc.). The images and stories generated by this project will also lend themselves to two-dimensional publications such as clothing catalogs or magazines.
Changing Clothes is currently seeking additional partnerships, sponsorship, and financial support from foundations, non-profit organizations, and clothing companies interested in the creation and exhibition of the project. If interested, please contact me via email.
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