……..Pig Gut Parka
October 16, 2013
When I was first invited to take part in this ‘experiment’, to recreate the original Native Alaskan Parka, I was more than intrigued since it would enable me to revisit the collection of Native Alaskan Parkas at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. I first encountered these examples almost 20 years at the museum and was struck by both the beauty and function of the garments.
In short, the original examples were mainly made from seal gut. The indigenous people would hunt, (sacrifice the mammal), then prepare the raw material , so that it was ready for piecing and stitching together into a simple garment pattern. This would involve different members of the tribes, in their specific roles.
So an opportunity to pay homage to these people, especially the skilled craftswomen involved in the latter stages of this process of making the garment, was a challenge I was keen to take on.
Below is a snapshot of the transformation of the gut from the drying stages to fabric construction, into the final garment.
Thought it was about time I started sharing information about the projects I am involved in, the things that interest me, and the ideas I have.
Included here are images of my recent work from the group exhibition Everyone Everything held at the Ragged School, Swansea, South Wales
My instillation included a collection of material studies, alongside found objects, reclaimed materials, images and text, which were intended to create a narrative about some of the processes involved in making a piece of work.
This enabled me to extend my experience of working with unconventional materials, as well as to explore ideas related to ethical textile practice and sustainability, which were pertinent to both to this project and my own practice.