Process

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For the last few works this term, I have been working with cyanotype, green tea, turmeric and beetroot food dyes, Fabrics (shweshwe and medical gauze) and stitching (darning as opposed to embroidery). I wanted to look at materials and methods that contrasted sharply with those usually associated with built structures of the city (bronze, concrete, architectural drawings etc.)

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Cyanotype is a method very similar to the old blueprint methods of architectural drawings but instead of printing on paper and film, I have printed on white cotton and Shweshwe fabrics bought in Marabastad adjacent To Kruger Park. The colours and vibrancy of the designs very much capture the Marabastad atmosphere which is in direct contrast to the derelict neighbouring sites.

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I used stitching, in particular darning (straight mending stitches for clothes repair) which is associated with female domestic responsibilities. Gauze is also associated with healing and repair of the physical body.

 

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