Artists at Work (2003)
Principal Investigator: Kay Politowicz
PRATO TEXTILE MUSEUM, PRATO, ITALY, 2003
Funded by: Chlesea College of Art

Kay Politowicz exhibited an installation consisting of a collection of fabric 'lanterns' from a cheap, non-woven industrial substrate constructed on site using magnets. The lighting grid followed conventional design models but the fabric treatment introduced the idea of interaction by the audience who could alter the shape of the construction at will.

The 38 exhibitors in the group exhibition were selected from 12 European countries by jury from the European Textiles Network (ETN) to be the inaugural exhibition in the Prato Textiles Museum, as good examples of contemporary developments in the subject.

The installation developed the idea of environmental improvement by design, making a practical example of the prolonged life of a product through the interaction and emotional attachment of the consumer, (Jonathon Chapman, Emotionally Durable Design). The re-use of fabric from the installation of an environment (Particle Fabrics) further set out to highlight that the increased flexibility and adaptability of a product to a new context, providing the consumer with a design role to extend the life of the product, (E.Manzini and F Jegou: The Constuction of Design Orientating Scenarios).

This installation tested the proposal that a cheap, industrially produced flat-pack lighting structure could be produced. Environmental concerns were addressed both in the new use made of pre-existing fabric, and in the potential for its development in the mass market.