Polytopia; post manufacturing industry textiles including canvass, upholstery, vinyl, nylon, foiled nylon wall covering, ripstop and waterproof fabrics, thread, staples; pyramid components 6 x 6 inches at the base x 7 inches tall, above installation at upART 2011 overall size 9 x 12 feet wide; 2011.
Polytopia is a sewn textile exploration of form inspired by geometry, evolution, and utopian states.
The fabrics are mostly deadstock, mill end rolls, and the excess of various industries manufacturing luggage, cars, airplanes, household goods and interiors. Many of the textiles are various upholstery types, like lederette vinyl, and nylon like the kind made into knapsacks. The silver and gold are foiled nylon wallpaper.
The patterns were originally hand drafted; currently they are digitally manipulated and printed.
All the pyramids were hand cut and machine sewn, and then to each other they are affixed, in the current iteration, with some 8000 staples.
There is a lot of guessing as to the nature of the textiles and how they might handle being cut, sewn and ironed, since some were never even meant to be held together by thread. Usually the same materials are never available again, and so the design evolves by using similar fabrics, for example white for silver, or one dark purple for another dark purple of a different texture.
Working with such constraints induces an evolution of the piece beyond the influence of pure aesthetic preferences.
Use the button on the bottom right of the viewer above to see the images in full screen. The images are from the Polytopia photo set on Flickr and can also be viewed there.
Process
The fabrics are mostly deadstock, mill end rolls, and the excess of various industries manufacturing luggage, cars, airplanes, household goods and interiors. Many of the textiles are various upholstery types, like lederette vinyl, and nylon like the kind made into knapsacks. The silver and gold are foiled nylon wallpaper.
The patterns were originally hand drafted; currently they are digitally manipulated and printed.
All the pyramids were hand cut and machine sewn, and then to each other they are affixed, in the current iteration, with some 8000 staples.
There is a lot of guessing as to the nature of the textiles and how they might handle being cut, sewn and ironed, since some were never even meant to be held together by thread. Usually the same materials are never available again, and so the design evolves by using similar fabrics, for example white for silver, or one dark purple for another dark purple of a different texture.
Working with such constraints induces an evolution of the piece beyond the influence of pure aesthetic preferences.
Work in Progress
The photos below show some of the arrangements of sewn textile pyramids laid out on the studio floor to test composition before being sewn up into larger components. Final arrangement and assembly is done on site at the time of installation.
In this image the white textile is roller blinds vinyl woven with a zebra damask pattern, the silver is a foiled nylon wall covering, and the yellow and cyan is ripstop nylon. Each of these pyramids is about the size of half a football, 15cm x 15cm base and about 18 cm tall (6″ x 6″ at the base and about 7″ high).
Polytopia, detail of textile art in progress; post manufacturing industry textiles including canvass, upholstery, vinyl, nylon, foiled nylon wall covering, ripstop and waterproof fabrics, and thread; size variable, pyramid components average 15cm x 15cm x 18cm tall; 2011.
