Block Party launch
Hunter Jacket, Embodying Ethics, Rohan Chhabra, 2010. Photo Rohan Chhabra
Block Party: contemporary craft inspired by the art of the tailor, is a new touring exhibition from the Crafts Council that previews at designjunction, Victoria House, Southampton Row, from 22 to 25 September, as part of this year’s London Design Festival.
Block Party will explore the alchemy of the centuries-old skill of tailoring by presenting work by 15 UK and international artists who push pattern-cutting beyond the fashion garment. Artists include Yinka Shonibare MBE, Shelley Fox, Charlotte Hodes, Dai Rees and Hormazd Narilewalla.
Block Party has been curated by Lucy Orta – Professor of Art, Fashion and the Environment at London College of Fashion, and renowned visual artist whose own practice fuses fashion, art and architecture.
The artists Orta has selected take pattern-cutting as a starting point to produce sculpture, ceramics, textile, moving image and collage. Through experimentation the artists have found new ways to assemble pattern shapes, not to create garments but to manipulate shape to realise new outcomes.
Block Party focuses on three themes; Storytelling, Embracing the Future, and Motif and Manipulation.
In Storytelling artists use pattern-cutting as a means of expression. Turner Prize-nominated Yinka Shonibare MBE presents a child mannequin, dressed in a historically accurate Victorian outfit crafted from African fabric to reference culture, race and history. Claudia Losi’s 24m whale made of woollen suit fabric was transported around the world to stimulate discussion and storytelling before being deconstructed and transformed into jackets in collaboration with fashion designer Antonio Marras.
In Embracing the Future existing pattern-cutting methods are manipulated and challenged through the use of innovative processes and technologies. Simon Thorogood’s patterns are created using digital programmes whilst Philip Delamore of the Fashion Digital Studio at London College of Fashion seeks to apply the latest developments in 3D digital design to the garment making process.
In Motif and Manipulation the beauty of the paper pattern block is the visual inspiration. Ceramist Charlotte Hodes directly incorporates these familiar shapes into her ceramics whilst Raw Edges re-appropriate the use of a pattern block by creating a flat paper pattern of a chair which is then filled with expandable foam to create the 3D ‘Tailored Wood Bench’.
Quotes
Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director, Crafts Council;
“The pieces we see in Block Party expose, highlight and use as inspiration the craftsmanship and deft skill of the pattern cutter and tailor. These unexpected works will change how we look at pattern-cutting and its possibilities.”
Lucy Orta, curator Block Party;
“Driven by a deep admiration of the tradition and craftsmanship of pattern drafting, curating Block Party has been the perfect opportunity to reflect on its many contemporary visual interpretations.”
Venue
designjunction
Victoria House basement
37-63 Southampton Row
London
WC1B 4DA
www.thedesignjunction.co.uk
Open: 22 – 25 September, 11am – 6pm
Ends
For more press information about Block Party, please contact Iliana Taliotis or Rachel Duffield at Colman Getty on 020 7631 2666 or Iliana@colmangetty.co.uk / rachel@colmangetty.co.uk
For more press information about the Crafts Council, please contact Jill Read on 020 7806 2549 or media@craftscouncil.org.uk.
Notes to Editors
Block Party exhibitors are:
Tia-Calli Borlase, Rohan Chhabra, Philip Delamore, Shelly Fox, Charlotte Hodes, Suzanne Lee, Claudia Losi, Hormazd Narielwalla, Lucy Orta, Raw Edges, Dai Rees, Rubedo, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Rhian Solomon, Richard Sweeney and Simon Thorogood.
About the Crafts Council
The Crafts Council’s goal is to make the UK the best place to make, see, collect and learn about contemporary craft.
• We believe that craft plays a dynamic and vigorous role in the UK’s social, economic and cultural life.
• We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to make, see, collect and learn about craft.
• We believe that the strength of craft lies in its use of traditional and contemporary techniques, ideas and materials to make extraordinary new work.
• We believe that the future of craft lies in nurturing talent; children and young people must be able to learn about craft at school and have access to excellent teaching throughout their education.
The Crafts Council is supported by the Arts Council England who work to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, and carnival to crafts. Great art inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves, and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, Arts Council England will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and a further £0.85 billion from the National Lottery to create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country.
About Lucy Orta
Lucy Orta is a Professor of Art, Fashion and the Environment at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London and works within the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion. Lucy joined LCF in 2002 as the inaugural Rootstein Hopkins Chair.
About London College of Fashion
London College of Fashion has an international reputation as a leading provider of fashion education, research and consultancy. The College’s work is centred on the development of ideas: its staff and students use fashion alongside historical and cultural practice to challenge social, political and ethical agendas.
www.fashion.arts.ac.uk
