REFUGEES AND LIFEJACKETS
On a trip to Japan in 2016, while visiting the Yokohama Triennale I saw an installation by Chinese activist and artist Ai Weiwei.
Weiwei had collected hundreds of refugees’ life jackets and used them to adorn the tall columns of the grand main entrance to the Yokohama Triennale.
This installation inspired me to create a series of lifejackets.
A heavy jacket that has a photographic representation of an overflowing boat carrying refugees across the sea.
The second lifejacket a representation of how I think life jackets should look – playful, colourful and less dreary.
Lastly a jacket representing what I think needs to be added to a life jacket to make it more useful for the refugees using them.
Another piece I designed was a lifejacket that was made up of four vests all knitted as one long continuous segment, each part unique and constructed with a different technique. It can be worn either as a massive bulky vest, comparable to a life jacket, or by multiple people wearing it together, one article of clothing that connects everyone wearing it.
I created various swatches that helped me design my final jackets. Experimenting with different knitting techniques and patterns, understanding what I wanted to say in my final collection and how I wanted to say it.