Story

Social Fabric

Written byPost-Grad Community
Published date 09 June 2021

Written by Silvia Martínez Cerezo (MA Fashion Futures, LCF Alumni 2019) and Winnie Chan (MA Fine Arts, Chelsea Alumni 2015).

How did you two meet?

We were invited by Carolina and Kate, Curators from Pa/Do Curatorial to participate in this exhibition which aims to highlight threads of fashion consumerism within our contemporary culture, represented through fine art and design practice. The theme of art and fashion bring us together! We still haven’t met each other in person due to the COVID restriction in the past months but very much looking forward to meeting on installation day!

During the MA Fashion Futures course, you find yourself constantly picturing society away from reality, imagining alternative scenarios that can serve you to question the sense of progress and Fashion status-quo. What nobody expects, once you finish the course, is that a global pandemic would actually become a reality; overcoming all the fiction that you could have imagined.

— Silvia Martínez Cerezo

The pandemic did nothing but prove that every day is a new reality. With my work, I create imaginary worlds where I can create space for conversation and critical reflection around fashion and the power that our everyday choices have to shape the future. My goal is to translate complex issues into simple messages so anyone can relate to them and create their own connections.

I usually present manipulated images and videos in a combination of familiarity and strangeness at the same time, looking forward to creating discomfort and introspective thinking. I find this to be an effective way to capture both reality and unreality, but also I like to experiment with digital media because it allows me to minimise the impact of my practice.

**Indian Kurti, 2021, oil on canvas, 12" x 12"**

I started the “Wishlist” painting series in 2012 before I started my MA studies to question the social norm of strong material desires and symbolic status achieved through acquisition of goods. Fashion is the first subject I work on the theme of consumerism, with a focus on painting the textile products that attract me in order to resist temptation and control my shopaholic behaviour.

Similar to saving some products in the wishlist when we do online shopping. During my time in Chelsea, I have developed from painting to a diverse range of media, realism to conceptualism and began to express more of the interconnectedness between our consumption patterns and environment through found objects and reimagine waste materials into art pieces to reflect the way we use the planet’s resources.

Identifying as both an artist and as a conscientious consumer, in my artistic practice, I hope to address the society’s need to face the climate crisis by a combination of self-reflection, and a change in our living patterns.

— Winnie Chan

**Honest bag, 2018, wire, acrylic on egg box and cardboard.**

We are excited we have shown our works along with Artist Sophie Cunningham, who presented an installation of sculpture, photography and video from her project ‘Empty Basket’, an exploration into the psychology and disposability of western shopping habits, specifically online shopping for fast fashion.

Designer Morag Seaton and Scholar Abigail Jubb from Worn Workshop presented 'Stories From the Worn Archive', an installation, which brings together the material and biographical experience of clothing to showcase how the ordinary garments within all of our wardrobes can become repositories for extraordinary personal stories with cultural resonance.

Exhibition

Silvia and Winnie's work is part of Social Fabric Exhibition curated by Pa Do Curatorial.

Social Fabric

Exhibition

Related Links:

Post-Grad Community at UAL

Post-Grad Stories