Transitions, 2023. 500 x 35 x 5 cm. Revalued polyester, cotton and elastic. Photographer: Maylei Hunt
Can we imagine a future where there is no such thing as waste?
Transitions continues Peters’ pursuit to reframe discarded bedlinen as a highly valuable material. The work is simultaneously concerned with revitalising textile waste and detaching prescribed notions of textile use towards a more expansive and playful experience.
The pre-existing history, mnemonic characteristics and physical properties of the fabric are considered and then challenged to propel a reinterpretation of the textile. Questions and responses are posed to renegotiate prescribed Western understandings of bedlinen to create meaningful and necessary transformation towards the next stage of life.
Why are sheets rectangular?
Why are they flat?
What if texture is added rather than ironed out?
What happens if the textile is placed on the body?
How do we engage with an ambiguous object?
Could the distinction between bedlinen and garment be blurred?
What if scale is reconsidered?
Could the textile become a sleep space?
How would this change the experience of sleep?
This piece reworks a discarded bed skirt and bed sheet with stitch to emphasise contrasts of expansion and contraction, colour, texture, volume and rhythm. The continuous loop allows for multiple ways to engage with the work, while exploring ideas of time and cycles, and encourages creative and playful engagement for both the maker and the audience.
Transitions was part of the Speculation Nation: Making Utopia exhibition, curated by Penny Crasswell, Craft + Design Canberra, 18 May - 1 July 2023.