Skye Sutherland

The driving force of this project has been the feeling of disconnection and separation from my family over the past few years. I was inspired by how we continuously adapted our methods of communication and began researching how communication can differ within nature. From there I found that trees use their roots and fungal networks to converse and share resources, once chopped down they are completely cut off from their network. The chopped down trees became a visual metaphor for me being separate from my family and grew into the main source for my drawings and development throughout the project. In these technology-centred times, my aim was to also find an innovative way of blending digital design with traditional textile design. Through extensive research into E-Textiles, I discovered creative coding and generative design and began teaching myself the basics of coding through a program called ‘Processing'.

The installation expresses a need for communication and connection by engaging users in a non-verbal conversation with the designer through the medium of textile design. I used traditional Shibori techniques to form organic, flowing patterns that permanently imbed my part of the conversation within the fabrics. I then created a code that responded to users’ movements and generates a spontaneous array of vivid circles that are then momentarily projected across the fabric, connecting us in a visual conversation as you alter and experiment with the design process.