An art project can starts with a common medium that the class explores together (such as drawing, painting, photoshop or print-making). An art project can also be inspired by a prompt, like Time or Place. The Environmental Wearable Art Project is one that I introduced to senior art students for the first time many years ago, back in Canada. The project started with a challenge to the students: Create a piece of art from recycled materials that can be worn.
Dress by Agnes Fung (2010) Canadian International School of Hong Kong. Lemon Tea Tetra Pak
One of the ideas behind this project was to get students to think about the environment while looking at form and function. An artwork does not always have to start with a brand new sheet of paper or a new canvas or a ball of un-recycled clay. There is a limit to the earth's resources so a major component of this project was to start thinking about creating artworks from pre-used materials. Years ago, while working with emerging artists at the Experimental Art School in Havana, Cuba, I witnessed talented, young painters creating incredible works of art on recycled cardboard. New canvases were not an option for these artists and so they painted beautiful layered paintings on recycled cardboard. Closer to home, a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation, was a painting by my great uncle on the back of an oatmeal box. Recycling is not a new thing, sometimes artists have had to recycle because of necessity.
Raising awareness within the school community is an important part of the project. Below is a call-out to the school for recycled items donations. The student below was collecting red envelopes from Chinese New year. (We could have filled a warehouse with the donations.)
The only limit imposed on students for the wearable art project was that the recycled material could be anything but cloth as the project was not about sewing or tailoring skills. Somehow, the outside-the-box materials always yielded more avante garde and interesting projects. Over the years, students have created garments from materials as unusual as coffee filters, corks, aluminium windowblinds. The following link is a photograph of a group of students in their Recycled Wearable Art outfits in Shanghai. This photo and a short article was included in IB World Magazine on a feature called A-Z Sustainable Schools:
Garments from Yew Chung International School of Shanghai, left to right: Chester Huang designer, (Corks) Lilian Shen, (UHU Glue bottles) Jisun Hur, (Coffee Filters) Tal Benshimol, (Plastic Bottles) Laohavisit (Tetra Paks)
Every year and every new locale (from Coquitlam to Shanghai to Hong Kong) brings unique materials for students to recycle and create with. The process can be challenging, as students endeavour to sew, bind and adhere materials together creatively to make garments. The project always culminates in a final fashion show. Students and their friends who model the garments are often transformed on the cat-walk. From Brilliance Shopping Mall in Shanghai to the Coquitlam Recycling depot to the impressive Canadian International School stage at the LLAC Theatre, students are transformed as they slink down the catwalk, immitating fashion models they have seen on TV.
Two garments made this fall by students at CDNIS.
Left: Eileen Ying- Red Envelopes (Chinese New Year) & Right: Rachel Lee- Carboard Boxes
The following images are from CDNIS Wearable Art Project, 2010.
Charmaine da Costa created the garment above from reclaimed wire and string.
Anita Wu started a campaign to reclaim used paper water cups & created the garment above.
Yoona Lim produced this piece from used umbrellas and newspapers.
The garment above was created by Tiffany Ting from recycled newspapers.
The success of this project always comes down to the students and their creativity & ingenuity.
The most provocative dress was created in the inaugural year of this project in 1996 (Centennial Secondary, Coquitlam School District) when Grade 12 student, Paula McMurray produced a dress made of expired condoms. This dress was exhibited in a show of professional art work at the XI International Conference on Aids in Vancouver (July, 1996). Paula titled her work: The Safe Sex Dress. This piece had great impact and was viewed far beyond the school audience.
The wearable art shows have incorporated student leadership and in recent years, students have incorporated an element of fundraising as well as awareness building. Most recently, Re Eco Vate (November 2012-Canadian International School of Hong Kong) raised $6700 HK for the Dongjiang River Reforestation Project in China. Re Eco Vate leaders presenting funds raised through the wearable art show.
The most provocative dress was created in the inaugural year of this project in 1996 (Centennial Secondary, Coquitlam School District) when Grade 12 student, Paula McMurray produced a dress made of expired condoms. This dress was exhibited in a show of professional art work at the XI International Conference on Aids in Vancouver (July, 1996). Paula titled her work: The Safe Sex Dress. This piece had great impact and was viewed far beyond the school audience.
The wearable art shows have incorporated student leadership and in recent years, students have incorporated an element of fundraising as well as awareness building. Most recently, Re Eco Vate (November 2012-Canadian International School of Hong Kong) raised $6700 HK for the Dongjiang River Reforestation Project in China. Re Eco Vate leaders presenting funds raised through the wearable art show.
Incredibly creative. I can imagine the hard work that went into bringing out this idea. I will share this with my students.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joel. It is always exciting to see what creative ideas the students come up with. Once you start this project on a school, it is difficult to end it because the students keep requesting to do it again everywhere. It becomes a tradition!
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