Preparation of tea silk for Beijing-based fashion atelier Rechenberg Couture | image Dirk Vahldiek
I was recently given the opportunity to read the summer issue of Hand/Eye, an online/print publication with an ambitious vision.
HAND/EYE is an independent, international publication which explores the nexus between design and development, culture and commerce, art and craft, and environment and ethics.
Hand/Eye casts a wide net with content ranging from a profile of Rechenberg, a Beijing-based fashion atelier that uses traditional Chinese tea silk, to a feature on the exquisite embroidery of artist Angelo Filomeno. After reading just a few articles it became clear that Hand/Eye offers a contemporary voice to the creation, application and meaning of textiles around the world.
King and Queen, 2003, by Angelo Filomeno. Embroidery on shantung silk with garnets and crystals | image via Angelo Filomeno & Galerie Lelong
The current issue of Hand/Eye explores living, indigenous textile techniques with centuries old traditions that are so often framed as being “in danger of disappearing”. It was encouraging to read articles like Elbe Coetsee’s “Weaving Culture, about the development of the Mogalakwena Craft Village. A project built on the underlying strength and resilience of indigenous craft practices, challenging the assumption that contact with other cultures or even new technologies will lead to the disappearance or degradation of so-called authentic culture. I think that too often what people actually mean when they voice this concern is that the tradition will change.
image | Marcella Echavarria & Mogalakwena Group
In Laura Aviva’s interview with Chip Morris about textile traditions in Chiapas, Mexico, he discusses exactly this when he notes…
…from the outside looking in, we often expect, and even demand, of traditional cultures, that they don’t change at all. And to go one step beyond this, it’s also the case that we don’t expect individual creativity in traditional cultures. But what we witness in Chiapas goes against the grain in these areas. The changing fashions here exemplify the incredible exchange of ideas now taking place among the highland communities. We are seeing an intense discussion of color, form, and tradition that is happening across the board, with each community creating its own new styles. And each new creation tells a story about its maker: through it, the weaver communicates where she is from, reveals the customs she grew up with, and expresses her creative spirit.
In this and other articles like it, Hand/Eye demonstrates an ethical stance that is a welcome voice as we continue to navigate the intersection and interpenetration of cultures in textile practice. In his article on the exhuberant Bochouerite rug made by Berber (Amazigh) women in Morocco, Randal Morris writes, “The creativity expressed in the rugs is traditional and expansive; flux and change are a part of all life and necessary for survival and expansion.”
Bochouerite rug made by Berber (Amazigh) women in Morocco | image via Cavin-Morris Gallery
Authentic culture is not something that needs conserving as it is a living, breathing and ultimately malleable thing. Much like a textile, it will change over time and in doing so will not merely survive, but instigate new meaning and ways of doing not yet imagined. I recommend checking out the latest issue of Hand/Eye for yourself. With succinct, readable articles and beautiful images it is an inspiring and thought-provoking read.