VLNA

Network

Our human mind tends to interpret the world in contrasting categories - world of man versus the world of nature, economy versus ethics. Students of textile and K.O.V. (concept – object – meaning) studios at the AAD in Prague, on the other hand, show that everything in the world is connected to everything else and works as one living organism.

Themes as a direction

What are the alternative options of using this local natural material, so that we no longer have to bury it in the ground or burn it as an unwanted by-product of meat production? What happens with Czech wool? Aren’t we able to find proper utility for it in the time of technological progress? Is it even necessary to think only about the intentions of progress, maximization, and global views? Isn’t focusing on the present moment in our local environment more constructive?

Each student from each studio forms a pair. Based on predetermined themes as: fashion and fetish; ecology and sustainability; politics and economy; global, local, and transport; tools and history; health and body they are thinking about alternative options of using this local woolen material. Even though these topics seem specific, they are overlapping each other. All the projects create a vast network of possibilities for how to work with it. The results do not aim to present solutions. To answer questions about local wool, students based their works on interpretations and artistic research, which was essential for their making processes.

Qualities of wool in a variety of fields

The projects closely examined the qualities of wool in a variety of fields from health to education, from the ability to tell stories to the ability to accumulate water and irrigate plants. Wool is used as a material for discussion with the younger generation about the future world through workshops. Some of the presented projects illustrate the problematic moments of the global wool market as in project How did we get tangled up in the wool industry? or in educative game Threads the students are asking How does the legacy of the Czech wool industry affect current global trade? Others open new perspectives on the issue in a form of speculative projects as presents installation How do you dress up in a good bacteria? Projet Wool as a ritual? invites reflection about diverse functions of wool and whether wool and its byproducts can be part of rituals of postmodern civilization. Some projects also seek new ways of use of wool in product design as represents project Do we remember how it felt? a series of three mattresses for physical and mental space. Wool is the material of the future!

You are welcome to read more about the project on https://www.are.na/vlna-umprum/channels