LAURA HARRINGTON / A Yarn
PRESENTING THE EKO 8 ART PROJECTS
LAURA HARRINGTON / A Yarn, 2019
patchwork, 157 x 600 cm
courtesy of the artist
Laura Harrington investigated the textile production process, working with nine different organisations which have chosen to embrace the idea of sustainability and decided to evolve in innovate and far-sighted ways. In 2019 Harrington travelled from Biella in Northern Italy to Lenzing in Upper Austria, stopping in Sondrio, Padova, Brescia, visiting nine different companies that completed the supply chain: from recycled jumpers into new yarns at Filatura Astro S.r.l., quality wool, silk, cashmere, and mohair fabrics of Lanificio Cerruti, Lampo zips manufactures, Tessuti di Sondrio, Lenzig Group in Austria and their Tencel cellulose fibre based fabric, Brugnoli with bio-based sports and technical fabrics to jeans research labs. "As a result, I won't touch, wear, or consider clothes in the same way, and for that I am extremely grateful. Fashion is an environmental and social emergency. Changing consumption patterns towards more sustainable behaviours and attitudes requires a shift in how we think about and value garments." (Laura Harrington)
The work conceives the fabrics and clothes we consume as 'living landscapes'. Fabrics and garments are entirely connected to people and the natural world. Their source materials are rooted in different climates and topographies, which carry deep within the memory of their fibres. Through our proximity to and close relationship with the garments and fabrics we consume – materials we are constantly interacting with, protecting and absorbing us – we are given a palimpsest of ecological connections to unravel.
A Yarn is a patchwork of 43 different fabrics and their behaviours, derived from nine source materials: bio-based polyamide (oil from castor bean), recycled polyamide (pre-consumer recycled yarn), linen (fibres of the flax plant), wool (fibres from Australian Merino and Alpine Ciuta sheep), silk (protein fibre produced by silkworm moths), cashmere (fibres from Mongolian cashmere), cotton (fibres of the cotton plant), Lyocell (cellulose fibres from wood pulp, birch/eucalyptus), Elastane (fibres made from polyurethane and polyester); stitched using yarn made from 100% Lyocell, embroidered using post-consumer recycled yarn (made from items of clothing donated to the project).
Laura Harrington (b. 1980, UK) is an artist and researcher based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Her practice works across different media, often in multi-disciplinary research and collaborative environments. She has a specific interest in geomorphology and the field of physical geography: drawing on the notion of fieldwork to playfully explore the complex relationships and interdependencies in our experience, knowledge, and understanding of landscape and ecology.
Made in collaboration with Valentina Donadel. Embroidery yarn produced by Filatura Astro S.r.l. Fabrics by Brugnoli Giovanni S.p.A, Lanificio F.lli Cerruti, Tessuti di Sondrio, Candiani, and Lenzing Group. Poster: risograph print on Cyclus Offset recycled paper, 100 gsm, edition of 850, designed by Adam Pugh and printed by Debbie Bower. Booklet: design by Adam Pugh with text contributions by Laura Harrington, Christine Borland, Meredith Root-Bernstein, and Valentina Donadel. This work was part of the exhibition CirculArt, Art Interwoven with the Supply Chain and forms part of Cittadellarte Arte al Centro 2019.
