From starting this field at the beginning of the five weeks I was not sure on what I could possibly create as my final outcome. After creating several mind maps, researching various designers and inspiration from previous students I was able to begin my progress.
At first I wanted to use my old garments that I had made from last year and display them in an exhibition environment as my first initial idea. However, as this didn’t have a lot of meaning to it I decided I wanted to use something that was close to me. From this I came up with the idea of using my nan’s old jumpers to create a new one, meaning I was still using my Fashion design skills whilst being out of the course for five weeks.
Creating the jumper was more tricky than I had anticipated as the jumpers would start to fray when cutting them up, resulting in the sewing being harder to sew than normal. However, even though this was the case I was still able to produce a new jumper made out of the old ones, creating a stronger bond between the materials, physically and symbolically. Once I had sewn the jumper I went onto the next step which was creating light. For this I used LED fairy lights and a lamp in the background.
Once this was completed I then added a few personal items and started on the setting.
As previously said in my other posts I decided from the inspiration of Gregory Crewdson I wanted to use my nans house as the setting for the final photos.
As you can see from my final photos, I was really inspired by Gregory Crewdson’s work with the dramatic, dark scenario. I wanted the background to be dark and muted so that the jumper was the main attention of the photo. I Also liked the way I placed the jumper in the first photo as its as though a person and their life is sat there and still with us, creating a chilling effect. Even though I wanted a more home based sense, I decided to have a big lamp shining onto the jumper as though it was an object being displayed in an exhibition.
Looking at the jumper itself, I do feel as though it gave me some closure in certain ways but it also created something stronger and more powerful. I feel as though, as a viewer you are not only getting one story but three different stories. One about the persons life and memories, second showing there is still light after death and the third meaning once mending things together it creates a stronger and powerful bond.
With this project overall, I was quite apprehensive about this field as I did not really understand the purpose of it. Having different tutors meant I had to explain myself over and over again which I felt wasted some of my time which I could’ve used to be more productive in the making area.
However, during the five weeks I am pleased with my outcome as not being too well at the moment I was able to use some grief and loss to create a powerful object that tells a story.
