Weaving Skin

About

Our skin is the first layer that marks a boundary to our immediate environment. Garments can be seen as another boundary, as a second skin. In this workshop we will multifacetedly explore the topic of skin from tackling a political discourse up to creating a piece of fabric on a loom.

In the course of the history of culture and civilization this organic material has been charged with content and assigned attributions in order to organize societies, among other things. Garments can be seen as a further boundary, as a second skin, whereby they fulfil further technical and powerful social functions. In this workshop we will address the topic of skin in some of its different facets:

- the political implications of different properties of skin such as color, age and texture

- approaching these qualities of human skin through artistic methods

- translation into an own artistic expression through weaving

This workshop is aimed at combining artistic and manual activity with sensitization to aspects of a socio-political topic. Attributions based on external characteristics such as tone, age or texture of skin are not only aesthetic categories but extend into the political sphere. Whether these characteristics have been constructed as part of the majority society or not determines for instance (partial) inclusion, exclusion, representation, othering, discrimination or sense of belonging of an individual. Weaving is an universal craft but what does it mean for practitioners who explore it from different perspectives?

This workshop will provide space to read, think, discuss and weave together. Participants may create a piece of fabric on a mechanical loom of the weaving workshop at UdK or with alternative weaving methods.

Course leader

Teresa Fagbohoun.

Fee info