Captivating the Fibresphere
2021 I PORTO DESIGN BIENNALE
PART OF THE MUSEUM OF VIBRANT MATTER
A PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOP FORMAT TO CAPTIVATE TOXIC MICROFIBRES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
production
workshop process design, facilitation, textile nano imagery, foto documentation, video documentation
in collaboration with
Secil Ugur Yavuz
Clemens Bernhofer
scientific advisors and experts
Marisa Almeida
commissioned by
Porto Design Biennale
curated by
Alastair Fuad-Luke
Just by walking around in polyester clothes we release hundreds of thousands of pieces of microplastic into the atmosphere within only a few hours. The fibres we shed then silently intrude our environments, contaminating not only oceans, but our soil and all its crawling inhabitants. Still the production of Polyester fibres is anticipated to triple until 2050, an almost overlooked scandal!
Moving from fashion stores, to private households, to waste collection facilities: together with locals from Porto and Matosinhos we followed Porto's toxic garment streams. Within a 3-day workshop project participants took a closer look at the materials they wear and learned how to distinguish natural from synthetic fibres with simple tools - to become Fibre Experts!
No more fleece sweaters from plastic bottles! With a critical eye towards recycling processes we explored which materials to better uncycle, not to be exploited further. Within a performative disassembly line garments made from petroleum were rendered unusable to keep their toxic microfibres from entering our land, water and atmosphere. After cutting, blending and shredding collected pieces of clothing their plastic remains were turned into chunks of solid matter in order to captivate their toxic potential. These memorials then found a place in the Museum of Vibrant Matter to be archived for the generations to come.
© Fernando Miranda
WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS DISASSEMBLING SYNTHETIC CLOTHES IN A FIBRE SAFE TENT
1. STEP: CUTTING UP
1. STEP: SHREDDING
1. STEP: BLENDING
1. STEP: POURING
THE FINISHED OBJECTS ARE ARCHIVED IN THE MUSEUM OF VIBRANT MATTER, AS A MEMORY OF PETROLEUM BASED TEXTILES, FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
