Concept¶
Proposal¶
Draping Hair
My original proposal for the final project looked at Interactive Accessories made with Hair, inspired by and in collaboration with Drag Artits in India; as Performance Art.
After my presentation, i received the following feedback from the Global Mentors:
Oscar asked me to co-design accessories with Indian Drag Artists; and to start by re-designing some of their accessories first and then to later move on to new ones
Claudia asked me to if the end outcome of the project would be a statement piece; hoping that it could go way more than just a material exploration
Cecilia asked me to look at the past uses of hair in jewellery for example and to look at examples of Hair anthropology for good examples of old traditional techniques.
Rico asked me to constantly edit the work to make the message as concise and powerful as possible
However, the more i have explored and experimented with Hair as a material, and looking at it through the lens of Indian cultural relevance located within the world of Drag, i have been drawn towards the creation of a Drape rather than an accessory.
I also came across a quote that goes
and this is what i feel best describes my project.
Moodboards¶
Vision for the Hair Drapes¶
During the course of sharing my ideas with other Artists and Designers, i found myself cutting short from my 40 slide presentation to some key visual imagey that i continue to feel drawn to.
This AI generated image of a Saree is THE VISION board. Be it the Hair Braids or the saree, both of these are iconic to all kids with long hair growing up in India. The juxtapostion of the two, is such a BOLD and ICONIC imagery that has been stuck in my mind.
Out of all the many AI Generated Sketches in my FPP, it has been the simplistic designs that have been the aesthetics that i have gravitated towards.
Aesthetic of Hair Drape¶
For my project, i have been looking at references of various materials and techniques that have been used for Braiding, Weaving, Knotting, Interlocking and Beading. I feel it is very
My aim is to now attempt fabricating esssences of these in real life!
Accessories with Hair¶
Takeaways¶
5 Ws (Updated)¶
Who, What & Why¶
Who: inspired by the bold and sculptural looks that Drag Artists wear
What: initially the proposal was to create accessories using Hair as a material. However, i want to focus on creating a set of modules of Drapes derrived from the various ways of Saree draping in India.
Why: i wanted to work with Hair as a material ever since i learnt about it in BioMaterials. I also wanted to bring to the table some topics that i am passionate about.
Where, When & How¶
Where: i will be working on the mostly assembling and fabricatitng from home. I will be using machines and tools from the FabLab at riidl as well as taking the assistance of a local tailor if need be. The fact that i will be working on this at home is very poignant in similarity to Drag Artists whose journey with the ideation & production of their initial garments mostly begins at home.
When: the idea is to create these pieces that would could be worn during Performances, and would create sculputral shapes during movement.
How: i will be using Hair extensions as my main material. I plan on using Braiding and Weaving techniques to build with Hair. Some fo the course learnings and tools that i will be utilising are Laser Cutting, Crystalisation, Wearable electronics and Open Source Hardware. The vision is that the integration of all these will make for a sculptural Drape that will be Dynamic and Ephimeral.
Proposed GANT Chart¶
This is the link for the live status mapping of the project progress happening, as mapped on the GANT Chart
5 Key Words¶
Movement : Sculptural : Module : Freedom : Choice :