21.11.20 Clean and dirty processes and materials
I've been thinking about different materials and processes and how whether they're traditionally seen as dirty or clean adds meaning to them. It obviously makes me think of Mary Douglas and what she's written about Dirt and contamination anxiety. Is the fact that, historically, work with cloth and textiles is expected to be clean part of it's gendering? It resonates with the children's rhyme 'Sugar and spice and everything nice; that's what little girls are made of' Conversely, little boys are supposedly made of 'slugs and snails and puppy dog tails.'
I also obviously have an issue with dirty metal or rust contaminating the textile elements of my work. I am trialling the mark making possibilities of rust here - To rust or not to rust? - and have reflected on different ways to approach Combining steel and textiles here.
I also obviously have an issue with dirty metal or rust contaminating the textile elements of my work. I am trialling the mark making possibilities of rust here - To rust or not to rust? - and have reflected on different ways to approach Combining steel and textiles here.