Forward by Sarah Scaturro

Textile Conservator, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum , Smithsonian Institution

Looking through a microscope at a bamboo fibre one day, I was struck by its morphology akin to that of synthetic fibres like polyester and acrylic. This smooth, featureless monofilament was dissimilar to its natural counterparts cotton, hemp or linen, which have an organic and irregular look that echoes their real-life plant forms. It was through noting bamboo’s synthetic appearance that I inherently grasped the laboratory beginnings of this new ‘natural’ and renewable fibre. The further I looked into emerging ecological textile solutions, the more I realized that it is impossible to separate technology from the concept of sustainable textile practices.

The development of technology has always been an essential factor in the textile industry, as manifested in the spinning, looms, fibers, dyes and coatings developed by weavers, then manufacturers, and later, chemists.

While the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw an optimistic period of experimentation with improving textile performance through technology, much of this proprietary work was carried out confidentially by manufacturers and corporations for monetary gain. A hundred years later, the research unit Textiles Environment Design (TED) is altering the traditional pattern of textile development by successfully utilising a sophisticated paradigm of lateral communication between designer, manufacturer and consumer. The Ever & Again exhibition illustrates the power of transdisciplinary knowledge-sharing and practice-based research to achieve sustainable results.

The workshop process that serves as the core of this exhibition supports collective idea generation and fertile partnerships through its transparency. Just as important, the display of research through the exhibition platform solicits immediate feedback from the public. This technological synergy between TED practitioners represents a movement that is, at its essence, open-source and democratic.

Kate Goldsworthy

Exhibitions > 2007-10 Ever & Again