In our seminar with Cerys this week we discussed the political side to craft.
I found this subject really interesting because it involved designers, makers and general public getting involved in a subject they feel strongly about to create something visual.
Although the knitting a square and adding it to a piece shows support visually I found work by designers individually something further interesting as it becomes more into the mainstream.
Kali Arulpragasam.
Super Fertile is a London based artistic jewelry design house that highlights world issues through highly original pieces that push the traditional boundaries of form, design and reason. After graduating from Central Saint Martin's college, Super Fertile founder and creative director, Kali Arulpragasam, held senior positions in top flight advertising agencies in London, Los Angeles and New York. A decade later she returned to London and brought a new dimension to jewellery design, combining her creative advertising skills with her passion for global politics.
"Her work is highly influenced by social issues with collections titled “Rich Girl vs. Poor Girl” and “Endangered Species”. Her latest collection is called “Terrorism Affects Tourism”. The collection celebrates the positive side to countries that we think of as war-torn and poverty stricken. From the Times:
“There’s more to these countries than guys with guns standing in rubble,” said Ms. Arulpragasam, who fled Sri Lanka with her family 20 years ago. “What are the plants like? What music are the kids listening to? That’s what I wanted to show.”
"London-based jewelry designer Kali Arulpragasam's line, Super Fertile, from her Murder Collection"
These pieces are very effective and stand out to me from the details and materials used.
Using precious materials to express a political view that is wearable feels a lot stronger to me than a propaganda poster or a knitted political statement and although that involves countless people to get involved these pieces have longevity they speak about current situations and look fantastic on their own or worn. These pieces raise awareness to situations that are overlooked in the media, countries that gain reputations over war this work brings new light too and expresses what they really stand for.
