Abstract
This project explores the embodiment of physical forms engaged in futile acts of labour. It investigates the territories that operate between our conscious bodies and the mute and unfeeling realm of the object, opening up questions about whether the Western body has become an absurd anomaly motivated by the desire for physical comfort, rather than a tool for ultimate survival. It endeavors to expose the phenomenon of sweatshops as a clandestine construct driven by Western greed, while optimistically promoting methods of hand making and ethical sustainability as a way to diminishing inhumane practice. The research operates through a series of human/object combinations, titled Extension Suits, that explore performance by way of itinerancy, audience participation and chance encounter. The Extension Suits are built from objects and materials that reference the simple shapes and colours of Children’s TV shows, comic theatre and the abject.
