Annaliese GJ

The collection revolves around the binary nature of nostalgia and constructed memory. Nostalgia is a mirage of reality that never was and never will be, however we still long for. It is a universal, all-encompassing emotion, romanticizing past situations, objects and places. Through a visual dialogue, different modes of nostalgia are explored; personal and universal, reflecting on Appaduria’s theory of ‘Armchair nostalgia’. A sense of personal nostalgia is reflective of my personal move to New York from suburban Australia; becoming acutely aware of my romanticizing of past situations, objects and places in homogenized landscape. While concurrently a sense of universal nostalgia is felt by the viewer through the warping of recognizable patterns, objects and textures.

My grandparent home became a strong symbol in my collection from photographs and personal history, to motifs and textures. The house was built by my grandparents in the 1970’s and I remember spending a large amount of time there during my childhood. It is constructed out of blonde brick, with dripping amber glass which filters a dusty warm glow through the house, in a suburban area of Sydney, where the houses are homogenized in style; in a very stifling cut and copy way. There are graphic orange and brown frilly curtains with matching orange and brown floral wall tiles which are littered throughout the house in a sinister yet twee composition.

All these symbols form a visual code which speaks of suburban Australian life. The aesthetics and visual stimuli which I once loathed became encoded with meaning and emotion when I moved, becoming a mirage of reality that never was and never will be, however we long for. Thoughts of falsification and construction of memory led me to look into nostalgia theory. I became enamored with Appaduria’s theory of ‘armchair nostalgia’. Appaduria’s theory of nostalgia, which concludes that all individuals can feel nostalgia for any given time period or event even though they never actually experienced it. This directed me into shape and textiles development; exploring nostalgia in 2 modes; from my own Australian suburban experience and also the universal visual language of nostalgia.

The shape development came to fruition through collage of objects and cut out garments. I utilized collage in both a literal and metaphorical sense; collaging different time periods and different nostalgic modes together to create one garment. The collages comprise of a mixture of nostalgic objects from my grandparents’ home, combined with vintage advertising and poignant moments of nostalgic communal objects, creating a sense of connection and recognition with the viewer then distorting the meaning through splicing and bricolage.

I first created collages on the 2D paper doll like models then moving onto making large scale plotter collages, to drape on the model and explore different shape possibilities without restriction. I thus developing my textiles in a similar manner; referencing different time periods and textures while concurrently distorting them and their meaning through fabrication and coloration.

Recognizable textures such as wicker, beaded coasters, tiling and amber glass create moments of recognition but are however distorted through unusual textures such as synthetic monofilament knitwear and jelly like silicone. Silicone comprises a big part of the collection, acting as a surreal glossy skin like texture which repels people while concurrently has a sense of alluring longing. Throughout the textiles development process a myriad of different techniques and textures were explored utilizing silicone, such as reverse painting, beading, quilting and casting.

Similarly, knitwear has a significant role in the collection. I have developed different textures and patternation of knitwear to mimic that of different objects encoded with nostalgia; such as the wicker like pointelle holes which I have constructed on the 12gg and 5gg Dubied machine in a gradient pattern. The technique which I developed with a 12gg structured Milano in monofilament, laser cut in lace like patternation and finished with Swarovski crystal. This interplay of textures is crucial to the collection, merging and fusing different consistencies to create a sense of tension throughout the collection; straddling the line between grotesquely tacky and romantically nostalgic.

Patternation and coloration provides the final layer or meaning and triggering of memory through the collection. Vintage wallpaper patterns and sheeting prints have been embedded and also layered on top of the silicone, giving the textiles a sense of play as well as reinterpreted memory. While concurrently, coloration acts as strong connection to the notion of nostalgia; creating a synthetic faux reality, through bright to faded artificial hues.