My textile art piece, Bleached, reflects on the current coral bleaching crisis which is impacting Australia's coral reefs located in the Great Barrier Reef. The driving force behind this design was to make audiences aware of coral bleaching and societies devastating contribution to coral bleaching, habitat destruction and pollution. I also intended to evoke an emotional response within audiences, encouraging them to make a change and difference. I believe that my project successfully does so through the crocheted and felted coral, crocheted octopus, and the use of recycled plastic. Through the transition of colourful and healthy coral to bleached coral, the audience is confronted with the reality of coral bleaching. Furthermore, the crocheted octopus has the same transition, demonstrating the effects bleaching has on marine life, and the crocheted plastic reflects on how plastic has overtaken the reef. The use of the calico dress also makes the audience reflect on how they are metaphorically wearing the issues at hand and that it’s their duty to help solve the problem. This project allowed me to learn new skills and continue using techniques I enjoy. The most enjoyable experience during the process was crocheting the giant octopus and drafting my own pattern. The octopus was incredibly fun to create as I completely free-handed the design and I really had to trust the process. I also learned how to draft a pattern for the calico dress which was not only fun to learn, but will be a skill I continue to use. Although an overall positive experience, there were challenging aspects to creating Bleached. While constructing Bleached, I was balancing two other major works, so time management was something I had to learn quickly and ultimately found challenging to maintain. I also found it challenging working with unconventional mediums like plastic, crocheting with plastic was very trying, however it allowed me to convey the message of plastic pollution and recycle unwanted plastics. Though textile art, Bleached still has the functional aspect of shoulder straps, which allows the dress to not slip down the mannequin when displayed due to the weight of the piece and additionally lets the octopus tentacles naturally flow. This design also contains many aesthetic features; however, I believe the most significant being the contrast from the coloured and bleached coral, the change in colour is not only holds aesthetic value but also portrays the main message of the design.
