Decay Garden - eli minun Lahopuutarha

These pieces - Decaying log, Dead tree and Umbilical cord - rose out of feelings relative to human activity in and as part of nature. Nature is perfect in its creations and resolves, it becomes obvious that there is always inbuilt mechanisms, as well as natural circumstantial dynamics to ensure that when the original function ends usefulness still continues.

A tree for example. A tree dies standing in the ground, or falling to the forest floor, it instantly and seamlessly becomes just another part of the forest, by providing a new habitat or source of food. It is still a vital part of the cycle of the living forest, not a problem, not a surplus, nor a waste.

Take a pair of jeans. In general its functionality ends in a hole, a stain, a broken zipper, a new fashion trend. It is now considered dysfunctional, not needed, not wanted. I wondered if it is only down to point of view. If the point of view is shiftable. What makes a weed a weed, and what makes a pest a pest. In nature, they all seem to have their assigned places, no one is excluded. Everything is kept in balance with others but nothing is singled out as bad, or useless. 

With human activity and endeavours, it seems that we often generate waste and problems alongside whatever we make. We label things from our point of view, while considering our own desires and our own purpose, leaving little space in thought for our environment where we exist as part of it. We leave unobserved the needs of our needs that thed'd require to cycle back into nature in a non-problematic way..

Decay Garden with its current three pieces is an ongoing meditation amongst points of view, a wordless non-judgemental textile prayer, a deep-felt wish towards a wholesome change.  I wish that everything we produce would be just like a tree. I wish that everything we produce would belong to a perfect cycle of usefulness in all its stages of existing and then melting into the source without creating issues. 

 

Lahopuutarha - Lahopuu, Kelopuu ja Napanuora

Lahopuutarha nykyisellä kolmella osallaan on omien tunteiden hyväksyminen luontoa ja ihmisluonetta kohtaan, samalla jatkuvaa mietiskelyä näkökulmien kesken, sanaton, tuomitsematon tekstiilirukous ja syvällinen toive kohti terveellistä muutosta.

Luonto on täydellinen luomuksissaan ja ratkaisuissaan. Käy ilmi, että aina on sisäänrakennettuja mekanismeja sekä luonnollisten olosuhteiden dynamiikkaa varmistamaan hyödyllisyyden jatkua, kun alkuperäinen toiminto päättyy.

Esimerkiksi puu. Puu kuolee seisten tai kaatuu metsäpohjaan. Siitä tulee hetkessä ja saumattomasti vain toinen osa metsää tarjoamalla uuden elinympäristön tai ravinnon lähteen. Se on edelleen tärkeä osa elävän metsän kiertokulkua, ei ongelma, ei ylijäämä tai jäte.

Sitten farkut. Yleensä niiden toimivuus päättyy reikään, tahraan, rikkinäiseen vetoketjuun, uuteen muotitrendiin. Nitä pidetään nyt pois joutuvana, hävetettävänä, hävittettävänä.

Mietin, onko se vain näkökulmasta kiinni. Jos näkökulma olisi pehmeämpi, pyöreämpi, taipuisampi, mukautuvampi kuten materiaali on. Mikä tekee jätteestä jätteen, rikkaruohosta rikkaruohon, tuholaisesta tuholaisen. Luonnossa niillä kaikilla näyttää olevan omaa paikkansa, ketään tai mitään ei ole suljettu pois. Kaikki pidetään tasapainossa muiden kanssa, muttei mitään korosteta huonoksi taikka hyödyttömäksi.

Ihminen toiminnallaan ja pyrkimyksillään luo usein ongelmia kaiken tekemisen rinnalla. Merkitsee asioita omasta näkökulmastansa, ottaa huomioon omat toiveensa ja tarkoituksensa, jättäen liian vähän tilaa ajatuksissaan luonnolliselle ympäristöllensä, jossa elää vuorovaikutuksessa osana sitä. Jätämme huomiotta tarpeidemme tarpeet, joiden pitäisi olla jo paikallaan luomusvaiheesa että luomuksimme voi olla osaa luontoa ongelmattomalla tavalla.

Toivon, että kaikki meidän tuottamamme olisi kuin metsän puu. Toivon, että kaikki meidän tuottamamme koko olemassaolonsa aikana kuuluisi täydelliseen hyödyllisyyden kiertokulkuun ja sitten sulaisi takaisin luontoon luomatta ongelmia.

t-shirts as message carriers

I left the t-shirt piece to begin work on to last because I had some internal conflict about the ethics of cutting up a perfectly usable, undamaged clothing item to repurpose. It came from the same black binbag as the broken jeans and scraps, nevertheless it wasn't faulty.

Then I was focusing on why I liked and why I disliked this t-shirt, pretty much in the same time. I liked it becuse it said nature on it. I didn't like it because it was pale custard yellow, and pretentious in its message, I felt. 

There wasn't anything much beautiful in its representation of nature. It wasn't graceful or powerful like nature, it wasn't timeless and classic, like nature never goes out of fashion, does it? This tee was definitely very last century, in its spirit and its disregard for its own message.

It was thin plasticky printed flowers and letters imitating embroidery, perhaps that offended me a bit too, because it was representing handworked embroidery in a cheap way. I still picked this t-shirt out of the binbag, for all these above reasons. I felt it was perfectly fitting for my purpose, for taking part in what I want to say with the textile pieces I am making.

Clue: slogan t-shirts, walking advertisements, statement posts, message carriers.

Conclusion: I find the message of the t-shirt lacking, therefor I alter the t-shirt to remedy the message.

 

bird & beetle progress

Used wool rowing to needle felt the base shape of the woodpecker, it is delightful to sew onto.

Thinking about the Y shape to incorporate as the beak, or as the antennae in the beetle. Not sure.

But will definitely use wool as the base for the beetle as well.

newer additions

I felt like a darker ‘canvas’ with less holes was needed to express the full circle of ideas in the conversation of this process. The perfect pair was found in a charity shop, again.

At home I came across an outgrown pair of denim shorts from my son, its fabric has become very very soft and quite fragile from the many washes it must have endured (it was a second hand purchase - at least one child wore this before my son). I feel it will make a good canvas for the bird/insect elements, being so soft and malleable.

horizontal death, vertical death (of a tree)

Continuity through ending. Tree dies on its “feet”. A tree falls to the forest floor. Meaning a beginning to two different types of new habitat that the living tree wasn’t yet, or was only the beginning of.