Soft sculpture experiment + 'Remediations' progress

Soft sculpture

Having researched the history of fibre-based art and its advent into the art world in the 1960s – 70s, I have reflected on Louise Bourgeois' relationship to textile-based art. From her initial dismissal of the textile-based works the 1960s to adoption of fabric as material for her later soft sculptures (Auther, 2012, p. 221). Bourgeois' textile-based works represent her deep explorations of fabric's association with female sexuality, body and the unconscious through her familial history in relation to their tapestry business (Parker, 2010, p. 302).

Pregnant Woman, 2002, fabric, glass and aluminum (Edition of six with one Artist’s Proof)

Image by ARTSATL

I have started considering sculptural form in terms of being suitable for using a larger volume of textile offcuts and small scraps that I have been wanting to recycle. I started by shaping a small-scale round structure and continued to build smaller shapes around it by rolling, stuffing and stitching various scraps. I aimed to bring together a variety of textures that evoke different sensory responses and I attempted suspending the sculpture to observe it from different angles.

I found this initial attempt of building a sculptural form using textiles and thread to be a playful one and it felt like a step further into the unorthodox direction of engaging with materiality of textiles. Apart from enabling me to utilise larger quantities of textile waste by stuffing the soft sculpture, working in this way feels like a rebellious act of care for the materials.

References:

Auther, E. (2008). Fiber Art and the Hierarchy of Art and Craft, 1960-80. In J. Hemmings (Ed.), The textile reader (2012, pp. 210-223). Bloomsbury Academic.

Parker, R. (2010). The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine. In J. Hemmings (Ed.), The textile reader (2012, pp. 297-304). Bloomsbury Academic.

Remediations

I have also attempted assembling the six works from Remediations series and stitching them together by hand.