Particle Fabrics (2002)
Principal Investigator: Kay Politowicz
Funded by: EU and The London Institute

This project represents research into the developments of fabric production for interiors. The project was developed around an opportunity to exhibit at the ‘Artists at Work’ exhibition at the Textile Museum in Prato, Italy, which sought to explore the relationship between textiles, new technologies and innovation.

The aim was to develop textiles that could transform a space through the application of technologies that enable fabrics to create and pattern environments, such as filtering and conducting light or heat. The fabrics were not only decorative, but could be joined into structures, which divide and alter the space with the patterns of light and shadow they create.

By trying to integrate conductive materials and cabling into their structure, fabrics can act as lights and radiators. This frees up space and ultimately reduces the amount of materials used in an interior environment, thereby providing a more environmentally efficient solution to our domestic needs.

The patterned textiles were created using laser cutting technologies and were joined together using a state of the art ultrasonic welder. All of these processes are essentially ‘clean’, in that they minimize waste by-product and the energy they utilize is less damaging to the environment.

The final exhibit consisted of Colbond non woven fabric which had been Indigo dyed and laser cut which was installed at various heights and angles throughout the room and which acted as a screen and barrier to certain light sources. Thus, a large interior space had been transformed by one product, which combined function and decoration. This provided a satisfactory outcome to the project - the fabric became the source of illumination, heat and pattern in a domestic setting or public space.

In this project, the following issues were promoted: -

• Transforming the space using fabric
• Minimal cutting and joining of fabric
• Achieving colour and pattern with the minimum use of harmful chemicals
• Using the fabric to perform a variety of functions
• The integration of light and fabric