Student Description

"Inspired by the concept of urbanisation, I designed my Textile Art project around the theme of a cityscape. The photography and historical artworks of cities by Vittore Carpaccio, Utagawa Hiroshige and Marc Chagall, were of further inspiration. From this and my classroom experience of perspective drawing, I have creatively designed a three-dimensional, multi-perspective lampshade using different parts of recycled denim jeans, off-cut pieces of georgette and hand dyed lawn fabric. After multiple trial drawings, I have successfully combined four different city images into a panoramic scene that captures the thriving atmosphere of an urban landscape. Structure and specific details of the cityscape, were created by the use of patchwork/applique inspired by the Japanese Boro Techniques, machine embroidery, low-emersion dying and embellishing. Throughout the process of creating my practical project, I have learnt how to innovatively upcycle old materials and at times, DIY my own tools. Overcoming the effects of Co-vid 19 was my biggest challenge, as sourcing my materials and equipment often became difficult as NSW went into lockdown and many shops closed. This led me to recycle old denim jeans; using the seams, hems and zipper to add detail to the buildings and reusing plastic from a PVC blanket package to add a contrasting texture and to represent the effect of headlights and tail lights shining on wet roads. With the inability to attend school, access to some equipment was limited, in particular an embellishing machine. To overcome this I built my own form of an embellishing machine by attaching multiple needles to a wine cork and using my hand to imitate the stabbing motion of the machine. Although, it was a challenge it was an enjoyable experience to creatively problem solve and inventively source my own materials and tools. Apart from overcoming the obstacles that arose, I mostly enjoyed the process of designing the layout of my 360 degree, panoramic cityscape. The process of experimenting with different buildings in different positions mimicked the process of finishing a jigsaw puzzle. Recreating an urban environment was some compensation for my inability to see the real city. This became my ticket to escaping quarantine, which was a valuable and much appreciated experience."

Images of Work

"The low-emersion dyeing technique can be seen on background of my lampshade. This method contributed to the aesthetic value of my design as it created a flowing pattern of blended tonal hues of blue, featuring lighter shades in one area and darker in other area mimicking a cloudy evening sky."

"Machine Embroidery was used to depict the headlights and tail lights of cars on congested city highways. This was inspired by low-exposure cityscape photography as these white and red lines aim to capture the live atmosphere of a busy city."

Select Student Folio Pages

The pages selected for each project reflect the individual students' interpretations of the syllabus guidelines for the MTP. Each student should develop their folio according to the guidelines, relating to their own individual project. This may result in a variety of presentation styles, numbers of sketches and/or experiments.