Temporary Text(iles)

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Cover image: Just Keep Going_Sanctuary, Ryoko Kose (2018)
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Published: Dec 21, 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32891/jps.v5i4.1419
Keywords:
text textiles social activism ephemeral public space

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Thao Nguyen
RMIT University

Abstract

Text and textiles share etymological roots and also have cultural and historical similarities. Temporary Text(iles) is project led research which investigates the relationship between text and textiles in hopes of harnessing its communicative powers. Techniques such as subtraction cutting, embroidery and writing are utilised to produce textile installations that are both performative and ephemeral. These spatial interventions are activated within contemporary art contexts and public spaces such as Altona beach, Campbell Arcade, Testing Grounds and Assembly Point. These experimental sites offer a gentle disruption to people’s everyday routine as well as a space for critical reflection and conversation.
In this chaotic time of global grief and tension, the author commits herself to understand the connections between environmental sustainability, forced migrations and the mistreatment against marginalized communities such as refugees and asylum seekers. Temporary Text(iles) describes the different spatial interventions in the research project and analyses its effect in relation to these major social issues.

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How to Cite
Nguyen, T. (2020) “Temporary Text(iles)”, The Journal of Public Space, 5(4), pp. 313–322. doi: 10.32891/jps.v5i4.1419.
Issue
Vol. 5 No. 4 (2020): Art and Activism in Public Space
Section
RMIT University: Master of Arts (Art in Public Space)

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Author Biography

Thao Nguyen, RMIT University

Thao Nguyen is a visual artist, curator and educator based in Melbourne on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the eastern Kulin Nations. Her artistic practice integrates textiles and fashion design into art installations that are performative and ephemeral. She explores how design and art methodologies could be used as a tool of intervention into space, and to creatively respond to pressing social issues. Her recent curatorial projects include self sourced (2020) at Assembly Point, Her Alters (2019) at First Site Gallery and Bruised: Art Action and Ecology in Asia (2019) at RMIT Gallery. Thao has completed a Bachelors in Fashion Design (Honours) under the RMIT Merit Equity Scholarship, as well as a Masters in Art in Public Spaces at RMIT University, in which she received the Vice-Chancellor’s List for Academic Excellence in 2019. She currently teaches Art: History + Theory + Cultures in the School of Art at RMIT University, the Coordinator for the Contemporary Art and Social Transformation Research Group and the Executive Officer for the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools and the Australian Council of Deans and Directors of Creative Arts.

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