Mending Portraits

Mending Portraits is a continuation of 0CO2 Leather.  I progress to perfect a 100-percent chemical-free, natural tanning method of transforming raw salmon skins into leather. 

In addition to the material research aspect, I experimented into how this material can be used for weaving narrative-based 'textiles'.  I re-appropriated textile-related techniques, such as strip weaving, two-dimensional and three-dimensional triaxial weaving and stitching.  In my designs, I sought to tell stories highlighting the importance of preservation, aspiring to preserve knowledge and memories on the verge of being forgotten.  In my research, I came across ganseys, or guernseys, a.k.a. fishermen's sweaters, and was inspired by how each stitch told a story of the fishermen who wore them.  I discovered how much of the gansey and UK maritime history were lost due to the lack of recordings from the dying fishermen and their wives.  Through The Fishermen’s Mission, I was able to interview retired fishermen and widows based in Anstruther (Scotland) and Hull (England), whose stories organically grew to become the inspiration behind each design.