Ethereal installation and performance works have evolved through use of 2D and 3D computer graphics (CG), and motion capture technology. The work reflects the evocative nature of material, informed by contemporary and historical textiles and dress. Former physical process and practice are referred to both in terms of the textile/ garment form, the choreographic body movement and the invisible body image, absence and presence (1) .
[ Fig 1 ]
Since graduating in 2000 (2) , further technical enquiry of this work has been necessary within a research context as software (SW) and hardware (HW) developments have taken place parallel to working methods. In this time the cost of digital media has dropped dramatically, SW and HW tooling has become more accessible and it has been possible to apply established material skills, within a broader frame of research and visual art practice. This has necessitated a shift from working as a solo maker, collaborating/working with a range of individuals, institutions and industry.Most recently an AHRB (3) Innovation Award supported 3D CG animation and ‘real-time’ enquiry of textile/ garment forms working within contemporary and historical contexts. This funding enabled collaboration with the Museum of London, fashion
designer Shelly Fox, 3D CG computer graphic operator Mike Dawson, movement designer Ruth Gibson and Vicon motion analysis.Specific historical and future fashion enquiry has enabled substantial advancement of both tools and medium and the establishment of links that will facilitate ongoing work within a broader framework. The use of 3D CG in representing ‘historical’ dress, for example, has explored bringing to life a garment form within a museum context and the values of this kind of exercise. Once textiles and dress enter this type of environment, there are constraints on the handling of such objects. So for example, garments won’t be worn again and various handling policies are required. In many museums only a small number of works will be publicly exhibited due to a lack of space.
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3D CG tooling combined with textile/dress knowledge enables the construction and animation of a piece that begins to explore the kinetic behaviour of a garment in its moving form, the characteristics of the material and how it would have been moved within. The result being a believable visual experience that: operates alongside the physical object; may function in the absence of dress that may be particularly fragile and no longer possible to exhibit; has the potential to reach new audiences through the internet. Throughout the period of the research, curatorial staff from the Museum of London were particularly engaged in the possibilities of exploring a range of issues that in relation to the CG processes wouldn’t otherwise be possible. These included: issues of poise and etiquette defined by the motion character, based on written records relating to the period of a particular piece; the use of props, accessories to enable human movement analysis and resulting data.
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