Bazzaroh Landscapes: Grasslands is an interactive landscape designed to host a cast of characters and tell the story of their effect on their environment. In this projected series of scenes, I attempt to explore the most sustainable, ethical and accessible processes towards creating unique textile, and mixed media work. Natural dye processes from responsibly foraged plants, or food wastes, as well as organic or donated materials helped in making this a low waste textile. I focused on process driven work, experimenting with mordanting techniques and dye layering was most important to this series as I feel as though many people are deeply connected to the colours found in nature, and being able to achieve these hues through plant based means was important to the process. To me it is important to showcase the wonders that nature provides to us through such exciting processes. I created these images by photographing the three dimensional scene, approximately 80x40x40 inches. Over a 4 month period I naturally dyed and wove various materials to create this whimsical grassland setting that focused on giving an idea of comfort and wilderness. From here I am working to create more organic characters to fit this fantastical world and move forward in producing my first in a series of books.
Made September through December 2018
The second piece, entitled Trash Quilt, is a comment on the negative effects human beings have had on the earth’s natural environments. The blanket layer mimics the ground that it lays upon to represent various aspects of environmental degradation happening in the world today, specifically those closely associated with the textile industry. Naturally dyed loom waste and disperse dyes are used to represent these issues. Excessive offcuts, as well as overproduction, and dye waste are major issues in the textiles and fashion industry that have a global effect. The blanket is meant to obscure what is beneath it through various layers, creating a veil between what can be seen and what is hidden. This represents the general understanding of our pollution crisis in that we are limited by the information that is provided to us. It also lends to the idea that, no matter what, the earth shall survive under our waste and return to its natural cycles after we are gone. The playful nature of textiles as a material makes this concept more widely accessible to a plethora of people, with a focus on children. Creating repeated patterns of photographed garbage also abstracts this unfortunate reality, creating a beautiful image from something displeasing. The use of fishing line and polyester alludes to both plastic pollution as well as the newfound love of human made materials in textiles, which take hundreds of years to decompose if they do at all, and take up massive amounts of space in landfills. The quilt is an interactive piece that is meant to create a narrative stating if we do not do something about the pollution crisis soon then we shall one day live on an earth that is covered in our own waste.
Made January through April 2019
