Textile designer and conservation scientist. Based in Ravenna (IT).
Textile designer and conservation scientist. Based in Ravenna (IT).
Speculative textile collection exploring the action of paper crumpling.
Year: 2017
Crumpling a piece of paper into a ball is impossible to do in the same way twice. The way in which your hands maneuver the paper from a flat piece into a small sphere is impossible to be replicated. The pattern of folds on the paper’s surface is therefore always unique, giving rise to a random arrangement in every act of crumpling. Creating randomness within textile design is often a difficult feat, as the human brain relies on its impressive pattern-recognition ability to make sense of the world. The crumpling of paper and its creation of ‘perfect’ randomness lends itself to a
unique method of designing textiles.
I began by taking observations the physicality of crumpling an A4 piece of printer paper. Uncovered were the many unconscious decisions I made when handling paper, contrasting with that of handling fabric. There was much to learn from a simple action which is often performed without thought. Throughout a semester of material-led research, I explored the action and concept of crumpling through textile design. I experimented with substrate, print, dye, stiffeners, adhesive, light, and temperature. Each piece the action of crumpling, and together they make up a progression between a crumpled paper ball and textile. Some physically mimic a piece of crumpled paper (#4), wheras some only carry its trace (#1). Some carry a printed pattern replication of the original paper (#2), wheras some use the unique method of crumpling to impart organic and beautiful shapes (#10).
I began by taking observations the physicality of crumpling an A4 piece of printer paper. Uncovered were the many unconscious decisions I made when handling paper, contrasting with that of handling fabric. There was much to learn from a simple action which is often performed without thought. Throughout a semester of material-led research, I explored the action and concept of crumpling through textile design. I experimented with substrate, print, dye, stiffeners, adhesive, light, and temperature. Each piece the action of crumpling, and together they make up a progression between a crumpled paper ball and textile. Some physically mimic a piece of crumpled paper (#4), wheras some only carry its trace (#1). Some carry a printed pattern replication of the original paper (#2), wheras some use the unique method of crumpling to impart organic and beautiful shapes (#10).