L O O P
Textile: Coded Patterns
This platform explores the symbiotic relationship between textile and pattern, and how textile as a relational material is encoded with meaning and function beyond the ornamental. Textiles are products of place and time, capable of revealing our identities and social environments through their materials, constructions and motifs. In many cultures, textiles function as vehicles for the transmission of information and acquisition of knowledge. And in our contemporary life, textiles are capable of presenting new modes of thinking, making and engagement – as thresholds of human contacts that could transcend the physical realm.
Students will investigate how textiles are associated with place, narrativity and spatiality through case studies and hands-on exercises to try out various textile techniques such as weaving, plaiting, knotting, etc. After which, they will develop a textile based on their selected concept/narrative. The crux of the project lies in the process of how the patterned textiles are generated and the effectiveness in coding and conveying the intended meaning/purpose.
Speculating a future where electronics and textiles are interwoven with one another, we think of how one might be able to be in control of their electronics through manipulating stitches and patterns in the art of crochet and knit. What would it be like to be able to create your own electronic devices out of yarn? What possibilities can that enable in regard to maintenance and customisability? How can code support that?
Designed by Vivien Tan and Nysha Tan Siew Mei
Under the guidance of Grace Tan
