INFORMATIVE COLLECTIBLE
TEXTILE
The scope of the project contains life stories, material culture, changing face of tools and technology, revival and preservation, socio-economic and cultural dimensions affecting the tradition and most importantly the meaning these words make to the lives of handloom weavers.
PROJECT BRIEF
This project aims to increase awareness about the complexity of the weaving industry and the processes involved within it for conscious consumers of woven textile through a hands on, interactive collectible. When a consumer looks at a piece of woven cloth, he or she may not be able to gauge the painstaking effort poured into the process which is hidden by the seamlessness interlacement of the warp and weft resulting in the woven cloth. The lack of awareness may result in consumers creating a demand for goods without knowing where they come from. Hence, informing them will be able to justify the value of the product's environment.
PROCESS
RESEARCH
UNDERSTANDING SILK
CONTEXT: VIMOR MUSEUM
CONTEXT: WEAVER'S COLONY
INSIGHTS FROM RESEARCH
PIXELATION STUDY
BINARY SYSTEM AND WEAVING
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
MOCKUP 1: CUBE
MOCKUP 2: INTERACTIVE KIT AND LOOM
MOCKUP 3: MULTI FUNCTIONAL CUBE
MOCKUP 4: SILK MARK STAND
MOCKUP 5: PEOPLE AND PROCESSES- PUZZLE
PUZZLE
COLLECTIBLE
REFLECTION
About Vimor Museum of Living Textiles: Textile in India is very rooted in history, culture and evolving trends. This extensive industry includes multiple companies and collectives which create, sell and document these textiles. One such establishment is the Vimor Museum of Living Textiles which is made in the top half of Mrs. Pavithra Muddaya’s home. This museum displays textiles from all over the country and informs the visitor’s about them.
Source for images : Soumya Sinha, Vimor : A New Museum of Living Textiles. India Fashion Magazine, July11th ,2019. Accessed, July 20th, 2019. https:// thevoiceoffashion.com/fabric-of-india-edit/vimor-a-new-museum-of-living-textiles--2804
Pavithra Muddaya’s mother- Chimmy Nanjappa was the first manager at Cauvery Centre,Bangalore. After that she went on to taking up major roles in the industry. She started her own business which sources, created and sold Indian textile. Pavithra also joined her eventually and she has been managing the entire company with her daughter
Problems faced by the weavers
I was told about jacquard cards being used in weaving are based on a Binary system. The transformation from thought to graph to cards was very intriguing and I wanted to understand how this worked.
EXPLORATION
After mapping out possible outcomes for my output, I realised that making something experiential was key as that played a very important role in my own gathering of data and understanding the magnitude of the complexity of the local industry.I started off by looking at looms available at a home-spun level (Kits and DIY looms). I wanted to create a form of a loom which could be placed at the museum and was not very intimidating but was intriguing enough that it invited people to come and fidget.
While the cube solved the purpose of experiencing weaving, it did not inform the user about anything else. I then decided to create an outcome which would incorporate many snippets of information and experiential activities fit into one unit.
REFLECTION: It was proving to be difficult to incorporate everything into the loom form and it was losing the playfulness of the cube. Some other physical activities that I had observed like graphing and pegging were not coming through in this particular form.
USER FEEDBACK: When I asked potential users about which form they would like interacting with - the cube or the loom, most of them said that they would like to interact the the cube as it looked like it was fun. It was also a less intimidating form than the loom. Therefore, I decided to go back to the cube form but try to use all the faces more efficiently.
To explore the process of weaving, I wanted to create an informative illustration exploring all the extensive processes involved in weaving only one piece of cloth.
FINAL OUTCOME
I reworked the illustration and added details about all the processes based on my notes and research.
Based on the Feedback, I started looking at my output from the perspective of an informative collectable which could be on display at the museum and be a take away for the visitors.
I was introduced to the idea of a memorabilia by my adviser. Upon some research I understood what the look and feel of a collectible could be like and wanted to create something which was in keeping with the visual aesthetic of the museum as well we a reflection of culture while incorporating many aspects of my research.
Thread stories has been an extensive project which not only unravelled a plethora of information about the lesser known components of the local weaving industry, but it enabled me to gain valuable insights from with a group of professionals I would have not had an opportunity to interact with otherwise. All the readings, films, field visits and primary research and class discussions added an invaluable layer of under- standing to the entire experience of this project
Having taken a weaving class and some other textile process classes in the past I was already interested in the workings of the industry. However, most of our contexts in those classes were hypothetical. This was the first time I observed the inner workings of the given context for up close and have understood that as perfect a finished piece of cloth may seem, it cannot highlight the immense effort poured into it my multiple people. I have also been able to reflect on the idea of ‘Handmade’ and wonder what handmade truly is.
I faced many challenges through this project, but the biggest one of them was to be able to translate perceived data into a working, informative and educative outcome. I also came across many new techniques like laser cutting, etching, and wood staining that I had never explore before.
Through this project I have explored the act of weaving beyond skill. Weaving is not only the action of interlacing the warp and weft to create a woven piece of fabric, but it is also an immersive and expressive medium for many. While this perspective may seem Romanticized, we saw the reality of the subject as well where the act of weaving is only the means to an end.
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