Miranda Smitheram is fascinated by textile surfaces and the myriad ways that exist to clothe a body through design and form. Initially from the fashion industry, she became aware of the characteristics of a sector typified by mass-manufacture, mass-consumption and mass-disposal and was prompted to consider alternative possibilities.

Using digital technologies and virtual applications, Miranda began to consider a future where clothing could integrate a digital interface. Instead of manufacturing disposable clothes, what if we had garments that were responsive and adaptive to our environments, moods and desires and which assuaged our need for novelty and the demand for disposable clothes? This project interrogates the potential of digital materiality to affect the rate of textile consumption in the future.

The imagery in the video and the printed textile originates from iPhone photographs of liminal spaces such as blurs, reflections, tunnels, and glitches that have been collaged together into a single image. The sequence of transformation gradually shapeshifts from the literal and documented imagery of the photographs into abstracted pixels of a digital representation. Each unique image builds on a version of the previous image.

Throughout the installation the artist will regularly cut out one of the digitally printed images, which will be displayed on the wall. On the 29 and 30 October, visitors are invited to visit the gallery and choose a piece to cut out and take home.

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Miranda Smitheram lives in Auckland and is working on her PhD. She also is currently a postgrad researcher at the Textile and Design Lab and a lecturer in Design Thinking at Auckland University of Technology.