Sense and Sensuality 2006.

Opening Date: 2006-Sep-14
Closing Date: 2006-Oct-08
I was commissioned by the charity Blind Art to produce a collection of garments, which would represent the five senses. These garments would be used in a performance and to promote the show ' Sense and Sensuality' at London's Bankside Gallery. This was a very exciting project, which involved me in a wide variety of research into the sensory and tactile areas as well as collaborations with yarn manufacturers to obtain sponsorship.
Each garment had to be sensory and visually strong and the fabrics robust enough to withstand handling by the general public, as well as being especially interactive for the visually impaired. I was able to develop some of my more extreme ideas and research and use my creativity to its limit, as each piece demonstrates.
'Sense of Sight' was inspired by a photograph of my daughter's eye, which was then digitally manipulated to create a knitting pattern and combined with Op-Art imagery reminiscent of the work of Bridget Riley. 'Sense of Sound' was a floor-length knitted lace cape in fluorescent glow-in-the-dark yarns and embellished with bells and chimes which created sound in movement. 'Sense of Smell', incorporated three-dimensional knitted flowers appliquéd onto a floor-length dress and embellished with scented ribbons and fabrics soaked in rose oil. 'Sense of Taste was inspired by sweets and cakes and hand knitted in strips of scrunchy sweet papers and brightly coloured beads. Finally, 'Sense of Touch' was inspired by a holiday in Cornwall and an exhibition at Newlyn Art Gallery, which was expressed through three-dimensional knitting, mixing a multitude of yarns and fibres which were then washed and felted to shrink to create distortion reminiscent of waves, shells and the sea. The textural construction of the piece heightened its tactility.