Slow Exhibition

SLOW

Kate V M Sylvester

14 June – 25 June 2023, 10 – 4pm each day

Opening Night: 16 June 2023, 6 – 9pm

The process of deconstruction allows a forensic autopsy of fast fashion. Each garment is meticulously de-threaded by hand, revealing the complex weave of warp and wheft within the jersey material. Working with this new weave, I have examined the structure, patterns, strength, and the capacity. Every single thread is considered and honoured. Taking fast fashion items that have been made in mass quantities, slowly deconstructing, and re-creating all by hand. To slow down, taking the time to meditate with the process and form a relationship with the making process. I am forever moved by the beauty and potential of the weave I work with. By spending so many countless hours working with my hands, I form a bond and an intimate understanding of the material. To honour this relationship, I have created an interactive space where every sense is satisfied. Beyond a utilitarian undergarment, the t-shirt is one of the most iconic design essentials. The complex implications of this undergarment are phenomenal, from social, cultural, psychological, environmental and economic perspectives. I am completely obsessed with every element and continue to find new ways of extending the thread.

Kate V M Sylvester

Working primarily with recycled t-shirts, my process of de-threading recycled garments by hand reveals the masses of material used in a single garment. Seemingly ethereal, the weave is actually very strong and able to be manipulated and revered as conceptual contemporary art. I have taken the t-shirt a ready-made art object capable of adaptions within sculpture, installation, couching, painting and video performance art. This revelation allows us to reconsider the materials used in our every-day lives and their potential. My hope is to reveal the complex beauty in the things we take for granted.