After my initial Photoshop designs, I then altered them using shape and colour to create a more accurate and vivid representation.
While I think the designs look like organs, I think they vaguely display properties of malfunction. Maybe this is because I didn’t develop them enough, or the coloured appearance doesn’t have enough detail. However, these designs just didn’t inspire me from the start. I think this because the designs focus on the shapes to make them malfunctioning rather than a multi-layer approach to malfunction that is evident physically and theoretically.
It was difficult to gain inspiration for the texture and colour of a malfunctioning organ. Is it misleading to create a wonky shaped organ and say that it’s malfunctioning, when in reality that is not the way the malfunction would display itself? Perhaps I am overthinking this…
Furthermore, I would be unable to gain first-hand access to what malfunctioning organs would look like, resulting in research found on the internet. That’s if I could even find certain organs with that malfunction on the internet. Personally, I would prefer to have access to the actual organ, in order for me to explore the detail and create a more experimental garment.
After considering all the designs I had created and the samples (next blog post) I had made to test the textures, I decided on two final designs.
Even though I have just discussed why I possibly wouldn’t use one of the malfunctioning organ designs, this particular design may be possible.
The first thing to say is that in this design, it is based upon a condition/malfunction called broken heart syndrome (I talk about this here). Even though there is a particular shape that comes with this malfunction, I have implied the condition through the use of a ripped/broken heart, instead of trying to find an image from the internet that shows the shape.
I have incorporated an idea, used in a skin design on veins, as it is something more easily accessed through dissecting a heart and looking at visible veins on the skin. I loved the branched effect of the lines as it conjures up ideas of malfunction slowly spreading throughout your body as it affects other organs. An alternative view of this is that it looks as though the veins are creating the first new layer to repair the malfunction.
Along with the reasons above, I chose the heart because I thought the shape and form would be interesting to create and is unlike anything I have made before. It visually shows malfunction through the use of the rip and theoretically with the research on what the malfunction/condition trying to show.
The second design was developed from when I combined an initial design of stitched skin patches with the influence of the restrictive garment, the straitjacket. I initially was inspired by the old style of the garment which had long sleeves and buttoned down the front, however since my project focuses more on the modern-day malfunction, I updated the design. In this, I added straps across the chest and onto the sleeves, however, I still left the buttons at the front, so perhaps if I develop it more, I will move them to the back so that there is not too much going on in the front.
Another addition to this design was the texture of the skin patches. After creating some experimental samples of skin (see next blog post), I thought the plain skin coloured fabric would be boring, whereas adding different materials and using a variety of manipulation techniques allows my work to have further depth and be more creative and eye-catching.
The samples are based on the common skin conditions I had researched and mind-mapped as to how I could replicate the colour, shape and texture. Most of the skin samples are from primary pictures I could find of the most common skin conditions with the addition of secondary resources for conditions like vitiligo.
Out of all the designs I chose this one because of how the restrictive garment and skin link together. As we all know straitjackets are used in hospitals on those who have severe mental issues and are a danger to themselves and to other people. The skin is the largest visible organ on our body, so when it presents symptoms that people may find embarrassing or makes them feel ugly, it can make us more susceptible to mental health issues. I’m not saying that every person who feels insecure about their skin is going to end up in a mental hospital, however, I am trying to show an overly exaggerated visual expression of how skin malfunctions can make us feel. We’ve all heard of the term ‘trapped in your own skin’, and we associate this with feelings of discontent and unhappiness with our body – the straitjacket covered in symptoms of the malfunctions is a metaphor for this. When someone is wearing the garment I have created, they will literally be trapped in malfunctioning skin with no perceivable way out.
My research is summed up perfectly in this website:
GROSSBART, T (2010) The Emotional Impact of Skin Problems. Available from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/skin-deep/201001/the-emotional-impact-skin-problems Accessed: 17/05/2019
More information can be found at these sites/journals:
- https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/02/cover-skin
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Recognizing_the_mind-skin_connection
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378256/
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/712158
Something I have not really touched on in my project of malfunction is how we get back to functioning properly. Our bodies are all unique so essentially there are many different causes of the same malfunction, what may be causing someone else’s eczema might be completely different from what is causing yours. This what makes the ‘way out’ so difficult to find, yet with hard work and effort, just like Houdini, you can escape malfunction. This is another reason why I chose a straitjacket because everyone knows there is a way out, they just don’t know how to do it and it seems very difficult.
I obtained my research about Houdini from this website:
THE GREAT HARRY HOUDINI (c2019) Straightsuit Escapes. Available from: https://www.thegreatharryhoudini.com/straightsuits.html Accessed: 17/05/2019
I’ve decided to choose the straitjacket over the other designs because there is so much meaning and context as well as physically being very experimental. While it may be a classic shape design and not something extravagant like the other design, it has so much more to offer and I think an audience is more likely to connect to it and think differently about how our body conveys everyday malfunction. I am also pleased that I am creating something other than a dress, so this is another reason as to why my designs are insightful and require a lot of thought and research behind them so they can be the best they can and provide a message.
Since I had reflected on the fact it was a classic shape and not very extravagant, I created some alternative shapes and structures to see if they changed my mind.
For reference, I have kept the textures and colours simple, as I was reflecting on the shapes, not the skin textures.
The first four focused on creating ways to hide/cover the face. This links to my research on where skin conditions most commonly appear; on the face and general upper body. I experimented with a variety of forms that covered different proportions of the face. By the end of it, I felt as though it distracted from my concepts of malfunctioning skin. I wanted the focus to be 2 things; the fact it was a straitjacket and the malfunctioning skin, not the facial covering that looks like a balaclava.
I also tried out some new ways of creating the straightjacket unconventionally using geometric shapes and restrictive forms. I experimented in using the geo shapes to create a restrictive garment so that the limbs moved differently. I tried to be different in creating a straitjacket look without using the generic form, however, I’m not sure it conveyed that well. I have consequently decided to stick with my original design because it again strays away from the concepts I feel that fully represent my project. While the designs are certainly more distinctive than the classic jacket, they don’t reflect the straitjacket themes that are critical in the development and research of my garment.
Viktoria Collins UAL FMP 