1 Dream Land Utopia Road Speculation City IM4 G1NE EXHIBITION CATALOGUE GALLERY OF THE FUTURE SHOWCASES RECENT GRADUATE MA TEXTILE DESIGN INNOVATION RACHEL WARD WITH HER TAKE ON POSITIVE FUTURE THINKING FOR SUSTAINABLE CHANGE “A NEW WORLD” IS AN IMMERSIVE INSTALLATION FEATURING BOTH DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL ABSTRACT ART. FOCUSING ON TOPICS SUCH AS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN FUTURE THINKING. PARTICIPATORY DESIGN AND THE IMPORTANCE IN THE SHIFT TOWARDS THE POSITIVE. WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO NTU TEXTILE DESIGN TEAM, RYAN YOUNG, RACHAEL WICKENDON AND FRIENDS. @THETEXTILESARCHITECT RACHELWARD08@OUTLOOK.COM JULY 2022. 2 3 MEET THE CREATIVE : RACHEL WARD “ I feel privileged that I am able to see the world through a technicolour lens, to see the possibilities for positive change and to be able to play a role in designing a future full of imagination. However, I know not everyone is able to do the same. Therefore, as designers we must work to build that bridge between communities and future thinking, shifting the power of the future back into the hands of those affected by it. ” “Gallery of the Future” is proud to welcome recent graduate Rachel Ward with her MA installation “A New World”. Rachel prides herself on creating innovative designs that address contemporary problems exhibited through tactile art suitable for installations and high fashion. Mixed media and animation has allowed Rachel to push the meaning of Textile Design exploring the boundaries of digital and physical materiality. This is coupled with a strong love of photography, warping perceptions of reality engaging her audience’s imagination. Rachel holds digital design in high regard believing it is essential in ensuring her work is ever evolving and consistently challenging contemporary design. Her cross disciplinary style allows Rachel to develop ambitious projects, centred around the future of design placing local communities at the centre of her work. Grounded in research, her projects often take on a speculative, positivist perspective, believing in dreaming as a tool for problem solving. With projects like “A New World” being inspired by creative participatory workshops encouraging communities to engage in future thinking. 4 5 “Dreams are powerful. They are repositories of our desire. They animate the entertainment industry and drive consumption. They can blind people to reality and provide cover for political horror. But they can also inspire us to imagine that things could be radically different than they are today, and then believe we can progress toward that imaginary world.” (Anthony Dunne, 2013. 1) Transport your mind away from fragmented, dystopian thoughts and instead imagine a world of colour, individuality, creativity, and expression. Welcome to “A New World”. A conceptual installation with a strong social sustainability angle that explores the power of positive design and imagination in empowering communities to take control of the future. Centred around speculative participatory research, “A New World” explores audiences’ current and ideal future perspectives, resulting in two themes, differentiated through considered use of colour and pattern, and titled: “What Is” and “What If”. The installation aims to question why the current and ideal futures are so different, opening the conversation surrounding the importance of imagination in future development. A NEW WORLD 6 7 “Refract” tunnel “Imagine” tunnel “Cyclone” Projection “Born” Projection “Echo” Projection “Wave” tunnel “Emerge” Sculpture “Implode” Projection “Icosphere” Sculpture “Ripple” Sculpture “Purple Sea” Projection “Synthetic” Wall Hanging Entrance Exit (Installation Info) Floor Plan 8 9 WHAT IS. The first half of the exhibition takes you on a journey through the current future perspectives expressed by a target focus group. “What Is.” Features a series of projections and sculptures centred around an unstable and fragmented world, inspired by science fiction, dystopian media, and a homogenised view of a shiny glossy future. There is little humanity to be seen as we no longer take an active role in the future we have created. A fan of science fiction, Ward took inspiration from some of her favourite nostalgic films for this piece. However, she expressed during an interview that her love for that genre of film comes from the lack of realism of the dystopian storylines but as they quickly become seemingly less impossible the anxiety surrounding a sci-fi world becomes greatening. 10 11 1.3 C Y C L O N E 1.4 I C O S P H E R E 1.2 S Y N T H E T I C 1.5 E C H O 1.6 I M P L O D E 1.1 R E F R A C T 12 13 Installtion Photography 14 15 “Refract” explores the repetitive nature of skyscrapers which have become a fundamental trademark of development in many cities. As a development of the moving sequence “Echo”, “Refract” asks how we can understand the individual behind each piece of reflective glass. Without this exploration there becomes a lack of transparency between us and the future we dream. 16 17 18 19 “Synthetic” is a silicone wall hanging which distorts the vision of the viewer, clouding their perception of the world behind it. A mirror to the uncertainty felt by many surrounding the future. Pushing the potential of materiality in storytelling, reminiscent of shiny polished glass buildings flooding the current future perception. With its individuality limited to what is seen in its clarity. Cast in a Perspex mould the polished appearance of the silicone is alike to the digital materials attainable through computer software Blender. 20 21 22 23 “Cyclone” plays with the viewers perceptions of space and reality, running from floor to ceiling its unpredictability and speed become unnerving. In comparison to “Echo” its movement is still contained however less restrictive, more erratic, achieved through a variety of perspectives obtained during the rendering process. “Cyclone” exposes shadows in the darkness by shooting an internal light into corners of the exhibition space that are yet to be explored. 24 25 26 27 “Icosphere” was developed using 3D printing, laser cutting and smart technology emitting a soft glow from its core. The sculpture is reference to an “Orb” artifact commonly seen in sci-fi media. The “Icosphere” explores the cross over between digital and physical media making the unattainable possible through speculative thinking. Inspired by Amy Twigger-Holroyd’s “Fashion Fictions” research an artifact was important to develop as it increases the connection between the speculative and the attainable. 28 29 30 31 “Echo” is inspired by the fear of regimentation. With many prioritising technologies for ease and consumption a dark shadow has been cast over the topic with many linking it to a dystopian future. Each repetitive polished block moves only within its own boundaries confined to the role it has been given. 32 33 34 35 Projected across triangular panels “Implode” acts as a looking glass into the metaphorical future of a world bound by hopelessness and fragility. As the tempo of this animation increases expect an overwhelming sense of panic as the 2D projection fills the walls encompassing the space drawing you into this fearful world set in the context of space. The use of contrasting camera angles increases the unpredictability of the installation highlighting the dangerous thought, that we are encouraging a world without difference. 36 37 38 39