Monday, August 22, 2011

The World as a Body of Folds

Is fabric an object, or a substance, or a material, or a tool? Our love of fabric is sometimes said to be a love of folds. Where, the fold may be perceived as a simple and readily accessible metaphor for how we are made and connected to the world.
A stack of folded fabric lends visual and tactile value to a thing that sometimes exists in the absence of immediate function. Looking closely at fabric in it's many different variations, we see an intertwinement of twisted fiber, folded and tucked in to itself, revealing texture, strength, and utilityAs a wholeness, fabric is found to behave like it's composite moving parts. As a uniquely human attribute, fabric is something we have for a very long time clothed ourselves in, shielded ourselves by, and contained things with. The fabric of our lives is not only a familiar working material, but it is also a trait, and--an affection.