Shine a light

I've been thinking about how a garment/textile could connect the wearer with people, by 'gifting pattern' onto others. As the material I've been using is transparent it looks good in layers and you can see the stitching detail more clearly when a light is shone though it. First you notice the colour and then other layers become visible in the light. I want to think of a way of using the sunlight, wind, rain, etc to reflect the locality onto the wearer and then project patterns onto other people and the environment. The idea is to make the garment a pleasure to wear and to get that connection with other people through the wearing. In quilting, the process is pleasurable because it is creative, individual and also social and the process is more important than the product. I want to take those important qualities and see if the wearing of the product can encourage them, so the wearing of the textile is more pleasurable than the acquisition of something new.

This made me think of a portrait of Isabella Blow that I saw in the National Portrait Gallery recently.The work was created in 2002 by Tim Noble and Sue Webster, it's made of stuffed animals (birds and rats etc) and looks very gothic, reflecting her character (authentic). The silhouette only become visible when a light is shone at the sculpture.