queer textiles 

This project was a deep dive into and a textile exploration of subspace. I started off with trying to express this liminal, internal space I move in and out of during kink encounters/scenes. Trying to embody not only express but also embody this whimsical place that all subs experience internally in many ways that are individual to each person’s experience.

 

My use of many different textures to create a textural language of expression to communicate my personal experience with subspace was very successful. Trying weaving for the first time was a great way to learn a new technical skill. But I also found that the different textural expressions that weaving allows for with the use of many different raw materials such as wool batting, pony hair, mohair feels extremely lyrical in the way of language. Writing happens line by line and so does the act of weaving. Therefore, weaving feels like the natural expression for creating a textural language.

 

I feel that my final design also interprets the theories I researched and incorporated throughout my process. Specifically, my semiotics research into talismans as signs, Yona Dureau’s The Talisman or the Word as an Object and as an Image-Signifier, states that “the word ‘talisman’ designates both the object used as a sign (of protection of power), or the sign, or the sum of signs represented on that object.” (2002, Dureau) I now realized that while I was creating my textile explorations I was seeing each talisman I was creating a separate from one another and the overall garment design. When in actuality the garment itself as a whole - with all of the object talismans I created, the textiles I wove, and the family heirloom linen I printed onto – coming together to create one large wearable talisman that took the shape of a vest.

 

This leads into the surprising aspect of my final design being that the expression of talismans changed throughout the process. From the start, I always knew that I wanted to create a garment that engulfed me as a way to express the all-encompassing feeling of subspace and to use talismans as an expression of power and protection that is found in BDSM dynamics. However, I started with very literal interpretations of talismans, creating small textile based charms that I thought I could sew onto the final garment in a collage like manner. But then throughout the process of making the final garment during the quality phase I changed the format or medium of the talismans by doing pencil drawings of them and printing them onto the hood of my vest. By printing these object talismans onto my family heirloom fabric it is like melding the past with the present, the old with the new, which inherently give power and a talisman-like quality to the overall garment itself.