The Fashion Paradox
During my 3rd year of Fine Art I decided to focus on a schizophrenic balance which I witnessed in our society: how products were shown (in stores and commercials) and the crazy contradiction of the real background of those same products.
Although I assumed that the same imbalance occurred with food, clothing and tools, I decided to focus on clothing. Here was what shown, and what it really was, furthest apart.
After a grave study of the fashion industry facts, I decided to collect several elements from the story (clothing, sewing machines, cotton plants, etc.) and then bring them together conceptually but also playfully.
This visual investigation led from abstract images, with which I particularly wanted to respond carefully to the feeling, to the more concrete offering of alternative consumption patterns that I incorporated into a painting or site.
The works are arranged by medium on the following pages.
The softness and individuality of clothing are enclosed by hard, rigid concrete systems.
Textile paint mixed through the concrete seems to show a hope that the individual migth still influence the firm construction.
The more I learned about the clothing industry, the absurder it seemed that clothing production continued undisturbed. The system seemed on a collision course, for people and the environment, and yet that presser foot went on and on.
I designed a presser foot which continuesly pulled on a system (garment) that was stuck. The machines were on, and each time they wanted to take a step, but it didn’t get any further.
Knowing what I knew now, could I still wear clothes?
My personal presence in “the fashion paradox” took shape in the form of a number of videos.
I dressed and undressed as I saw either an advertisement or news broadcast. These images followed each other faster and faster, which resulted in me getting stuck in my own clothing.
I also stand naked in front of my own clothing, clueless what to do.
A lot of (the clothing industries) background information seemed to be screaming for a clear artistry. Yet this step often proved more difficult than I imagined; showing the clear disbalance by sticking the differences on or next to each other often resulted in a flat image. Art critic Maarten Doorman speaks about the engaged art paradox: Good art is ambivalent and good engagement is unambiguous.(*)
On textiles, I printed the ratio of stores that did sell responsible clothing, and stores that didn’t (ratio 1:110). The study got stuck between wanting to show the options and creating an image.
The images I created for “the fashion paradox” often carried a feeling of powerlessness. Spectators seemed to be confronted with an issue which they could not possibly resolve themselves. Because aesthetics in itself did not seem to offer a way out of this stalemate, I decided to focus on where space could be found.
The works that emerged from this attempted serve as a practical guide. They tried to practice the role of the spectator, consumer, or also entrepreneur.
A painting that consisted of cut-out labels, printed with information about clothing brands that already produced in balance with people and the environment, was later further developed into a website that displayed food and tools in addition to clothing.
