Many different types of creatures have innate defense mechanisms to help them to survive. My inspiration is drawn from sea creatures – most specifically, jellyfish, sea urchins, and puffer fish. Puffer fish are known for being able to fill themselves up with water or air to produce sharp spines that cover their bodies.

I have incorporated wool covered nitinol wire into this outfit to show how a person with a similar defense mechanism might involuntarily react if their personal space was invaded. When someone touches the spine or shoulders of the outfit, the ‘spines’ on the front of the outfit recoil.

This piece consists of two layered dresses. The dress underneath has been hand painted with dyes, mimicking patterns and colors found underwater. The dress overtop is translucent, but weighted at the bottom to cause the fabric to flow like a moving jellyfish.

The textile processes used to create this piece are dyeing, knitting, felting, and sewing. The dress underneath was sewn together and then hand painted by using a process called polychromatic printing. Parts of the dress overtop were knitted and then attached to the silk. The dress was then dyed and felted. The ‘spines’ are nitinol wire covered in wool. An Arduino powers the nitinol wire. The electronic components are powered by a rechargeable battery.

You can view more images and more information about this on the main site. I’ve also posted some extra pictures from the shoot, and process photos that didn’t make the cut on Flickr.

Photos were taken by me. My sister is modeling the dress, and helped quite a bit with figuring out a name for this outfit. My favorite part of the dress is definitely the layer underneath, it was hand painted using a polychromatic printing method.

This piece (as well as a few other of my pieces) will be shown at my solo show called ‘Siphonophorae’ at the Anna Leonowens Gallery (Halifax, NS)  from December 7th-11th, 2010. I will be making a post in a few weeks with more information about it.

Working on a new project dealing with interaction between two garments. I love working on knitting machines.

My work tends to be derived from my fascination with the inside. The inside of machines, the inside of the human body, the inside of our thoughts; these are all things that are generally hidden, intentionally or otherwise. The necessity or possibility of destruction frightens us away from ever really being able to see these things. Some deep sea creatures, such as jellyfish, break this convention by exposing their insides through a transparent body, inspiring me to do the same through my outfit.

This piece consists of imagery influenced by internal biological elements of deep sea life and human anatomy. The lights mimic bioluminescent (emission of light by a living organism) sea creatures and their natural defence system. The ropes on the dress represent a jellyfish’s tentacles. The dress’s texture depicts muscle tissue. The flexing on the upper body of the dress suggests breathing.

Many different textile processes were utilized to assemble this outfit. Through felting, knitting, crocheting, dying and machine stitching, I have created the appearance of internal imagery. These materials were dyed with a combination of powdered drink mix and acid dyes, giving the fabric its vibrant colors.

Interwoven into the outfit are many conductive threads and wires. These wires provide energy to the LEDs (light emitting diodes) and nitinol (shape memory alloy). The nitnol and LEDs are both powered by a Lilypad Arduino (microcontroller), which also controls the flexing of the nitinol. Another Arduino, as well as a motion sensor, tells the lights on the skirt when to turn on.

There are more photos available on my flickr page. This piece will be shown at the Lennox Contemporary Gallery from April 30th-May 10th 2009. More information available in this post.