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Initially I collected newspaper articles and photographs relating to current migration stories and tragic episodes in the past. Like most people I only have second hand knowledge of these events through the media. So I began to search for a way into the subject which I could relate to and express in a personal way.<\/em><\/p>\n Looking through one of my travel notebooks I came across a sketch of a Rajasthani skirt hung out to dry on a washing line. The pleated, flared panels of the skirt created a memorable half circle of colour and pattern. Very reluctantly I jettisoned this format because it was too beautiful, too Rajasthani. But I kept the idea of \u201chung out to dry\u201d. I explored other garment formats e.g. the Greek peplos, or the salwar and kameez . But I felt that the cultural references associated with these were also too strong. I was looking for a garment everyone could relate to, something as universal as a denim jacket or quilted anorak. When the idea of a simple, sleeveless, shift dress surfaced, a friend lent me a 1960\u2019s dress pattern.<\/em><\/p>\n Also In my notebook there were photographs of fabric held down by stones and spread out to dry on the ground. These connected with the way we sometimes find scraps of cloth or perhaps the odd shoe on a walk on a beach, and led onto the idea of a garment being \u201cleft behind\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 With a concept and format in place I could now move into making the dresses and finding the props needed for the installation. However I still needed to resolve what if anything should be included on the dresses by way of colour and decoration.<\/em><\/p>\n I am interested in how clothing and designs on clothing can express cultural identity, and how when people migrate they keep some of their cultural traditions intact, whilst they discard others or they become fused or exchanged in the host countries. Whilst working with a group of refugees in a community arts project I noticed how choosing colour and designing decorative motifs seemed to provide a powerful source of comfort and pleasure, and also a renewed sense of personal and cultural identity.<\/em><\/p>\n What message do you hope the viewers of your work will take away from the exhibition?<\/p>\n Both dresses carry designs based on the pomegranate. I chose the pomegranate because it symbolises life and death and the borderlands between the two. A.S. Byatt in her essay The Peacock and the Vine described the pomegranate as \u2026. \u201c a rounded seed container surmounted by a crown of leaves that can suggest a closed secret or something about to burst open with shining crimson seeds with life blood in birth and death\u201d. in many cultures it is a very old and readily understood symbol for life, fertility and growth, and prosperity. Variations of the symbol are to be found for example on the robes of Hebrew priests, or ancient carpets woven in the Middle East or the printed fabrics of William Morris.<\/em><\/p>\n To replicate a commercially printed fabric I traced my drawings of pomegranates onto a white cotton polyester fabric with a permanent ink pen and then painted in the designs with brilliant dye based water colour. I then made up the dress. The second dress went through exactly the same stages but I went further and disrupted the pristine, bright, qualities by staining, bleaching and burning the fabric. I grazed it with sandpaper, ripped and tore the dress, and then darned and mended it in places.<\/em><\/p>\n That is fascinating Dorothy and shows the breadth of\u00a0 your research into your work. I’m sure the symbolism of the dresses will convey your message to the visitors in a very poignant meaningful way, a message still so current in our lives. You are one of the TSG tutors running workshops during the DIS\/rupt <\/em>exhibition, briefly, what can your students expect from the class?<\/p>\n I hope that students will come to explore this idea with me in a full day workshop titled \u201cAdd to it, Alter it. Even erase it!\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n Venue: The Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stratford Road, Stroud, GL5 4AF<\/em><\/p>\n Date: Sunday 14th<\/sup> May <\/em><\/p>\n Time:\u00a0\u00a0 10.00. – 4.00. <\/em><\/p>\n Cost: Full Fee \u00a365.00\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Max students: 12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Students will disrupt the design on the hem of a dress by changing small sections, adding their own colours and some simple stitching. I want students to come and leave their own take on a story revealed and concealed in my exhibition pieces: Hung out to Dry and Left Behind<\/em><\/p>\n A materials pack will be supplied cost \u00a33.00.payable at the workshop.<\/em><\/p>\n Thank you Dorothy, that sounds really interesting and I’m sure the students will gain a lot from their day with you. As before, booking information for Dorothy’s and all the other workshops running during DIS\/rupt<\/em> can be found here. SIT select 2017<\/a><\/p>\n Don’t miss the chance of a place on Dorothy’s or one of the other workshops – as I said, ten days and counting……….<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/textilestudygroup.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/04\/hung-out-to-dry-detail.jpg?w=702&resize=702%2C527\")
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