Christina Wigmore
IMAGES: Christina Wigmore
Christina’s design work responds to stories and memories centred around treasured objects, places and spaces. Using stories behind clothing and objects from the Punk era that people had loaned to the Summer 2023 Punk: Rage and Revolution exhibition at Leicester’s New Walk Museum and
Gallery, she took the opportunity to set up interviews with five Leicester Punks. Stories and memories behind objects they had kept and loaned for the exhibition inspired the final work.
Between 1976-1979 when punk exploded across the UK, there was little public knowledge about the negative impact of the fashion industry on the environment. However, punks and their do-it-yourself ethos of creating new and shocking fashion from what was to hand through necessity rather than choice, were in many ways the forerunners of sustainable fashion.
The project aimed to explore the DIY creativity and ethos of the punk youth subculture as a sustainable textile and surface design research project, which took inspiration from nostalgic memories of objects kept by a community of Leicester punks.
The aim was to pilot a personalised collaborative design process using the narratives described by research participants about personal objects of sentimental value. The process involved reimagining those objects into new textile or surface design products. Through the project Christina wanted to find out whether the new objects would also hold sentimental value for those involved. It was based on the premise that a co-designed product with meaning is a more sustainable and durable product design option.
This narrative-based action research project aimed to address over-production and consumption of textiles, by piloting a slow-textile bespoke co-design process exploring the concept of objects having a life and meaning beyond their practical purpose. The objects presented were used as a basis to explore a design model which reimagined objects kept for nostalgic reasons. The aesthetic, materiality and associated memories described and observed, were used as inspiration to create something new and usable which would hold value to the participants.
The process involved working in a personalised way to create a bespoke product or artefact in collaboration with the research participants. The aim was find out whether the resulting surface design product was more likely to be kept or passed on to friends or family members, and therefore less likely to be disposed of in landfill.
The chosen research methods allowed the researcher to listen to and record the nostalgic memories and stories associated with the objects, observe the participants as they described their objects, and respond to these in the design aesthetic. The wider social context shared by the interviewees gave a bigger picture and material to work with for the researcher.
Christina focussed on one case study and the story of Wayne ‘Spike’ Large’s precious camera that captured many wonderful photos of his Leicester punk friends. Wayne’s story was particularly interesting as at the time he was using his camera to take photos of Leicester punks he was both a punk that questioned authority, but he also served in the army in Northern Ireland where he conformed to authority.
Wayne was involved in the design process from start to finish and once the final piece was produced (a wall hanging), he was asked what he would do with it once he tired of it or if something happened to him. His comments were as follows: “I felt engaged with the process throughout and the methodology maintained my interest, captured my emotions and core values during the interview and iterative review process. The product feels bespoke and special in some way, not mass produced, so it adds much more value. I really can’t see a time nor reason to let something like this go. The product represents me and a time in my life. Therefore, it will certainly stay with me amongst my ‘precious items’ and by default will be passed on eventually. The hope of course, would be that a close family member will carry it forward, both as a piece of original artwork in its own right, and as a reminder of myself”.
Christina showcased a solo exhibition Objects Reimagined at Leicester’s Little Theatre from February 26th - 22nd April 2024.
Instagram: @christinawigmoredesign
IMAGES: Christina Wigmore
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