Sheltered Fragility


Haozhe Wang, B.F.A. 2023

 

I was inspired by the work 'Mother' by photographer Ishiuchi Miyako. Her mother is a survivor from atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, she had a lot of delicate lace lingerie in her closet. Due to the scars from the acid rain of the nuclear bomb, her mother never wore any of the delicate lingerie she had. During my initial fabric development, I used found fishnets and tablecloths to simulate the lace effect, as well as leftover poly-fill to simulate the mushroom cloud after the explosion. In the process of improving the fabrics towards a fashion collection, I found some scraps of fabrics, leftovers from the previous semester and some synthetic latex—a material that is non-biodegradable and not safe for the environment. It was lying around, its potential unused and disregarded, ready for landfill. I decided to remake it to make a new fabric. This new type of fabric is more delicate than before, durable, strong and waterproof.