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Framing Fragility collection samples
Collection:CSM Museum & Study Collection
Date: 2023
Artist: Angelica Ellis
Dimensions:
Sample 1: 410 × 290 mm (16 1/8 × 11 7/16 in.)
Sample 2: 210 × 130 mm (8 1/4 × 5 1/8 in.)
Sample 3: 400 × 160 mm (15 3/4 × 6 5/16 in.)
Medium: Solder, glass beads, deadstock veg tanned leather, tulle, mild steel, bioplastic agar agar and stretch georgette
Object number: FA.2024.147.CC.1-3
DescriptionEmbroidery frame samples made with shaped mild steel metal and upholstered with deadstock leather. Inside the frames are stretched fabric that has been embroidered with hand made materials like solder and bioplastic agar agar as well as yarn and glass beads.
Statement from the artist:
In 2021, I began my Masters programme at the Royal College of Art (RCA), where my focus was to use the beauty of couture embroidery and apply it to designs for people with disabilities. Having been diagnosed with Scoliosis and undergone surgery at a young age, I was concerned about the lack of consideration for aesthetics, i.e., such as balance, colour, movement, pattern, scale, shape and visual weight, in clothing designed for this community. As I had experienced in my own life, functionality of clothing or medical aids was often prioritised over aesthetic concerns.
In my first year of study, at the RCA, I undertook a Master's thesis which allowed me to explore the topic in greater depth. I wanted to know why I almost jeopardised my own health when I refused to use a scoliosis brace that I needed. Using autoethnography as a research method, I explored my own experience as well as my sister's experience of living with a disability to figure out why beauty was so important to us. With my secondary research I discovered from writers like Alan More and Donald Norman that aesthetics in design is used to create a positive experience for the user. When adaptive products or clothing is designed for disabled people without aesthetic consideration the end products can become stigmatising. This can have a detrimental impact on the user’s mental health. After gaining this understanding I was curious to understand how beauty can have a deep effect on us? How beauty contributes to preserving our mental health? It is when I encountered Immanuel Kant’s writings on aesthetic judgement that I came to the realisation that beauty offers a break from the mundanity that life can bring. It offers us balance in our everyday reality. If this is true for everyone then it’s especially true for people with disabilities that often have a challenging daily routine.
By incorporating aesthetics into design, we acknowledge and respect the inherent dignity and individuality of each person. It goes beyond pure functionality and recognizes the value of self-expression and personal identity, regardless of one's physical abilities. Designing with empathy means understanding the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of living with a disability and incorporating those considerations into the design process. It's about creating products that not only fulfil functional needs but also enhance the overall well-being and confidence of individuals.
My approach to aesthetics derives from my experience in training with couture houses/ ateliers in paris. I interned with Chanel’s métiers d’arts Maison Lemarié (one of Chanel’s embroidery atelier), Atelier Lebuisson and Atelier Baqué Molinié where we did hand embroidery samples for clients like Schiaparelli, Dior, Valentino and Fendi. I learned a range of hand embroidery techniques like luneville Crochet (crochet meaning hook in french) , tambour embroidery, needle and thread, flower embroidery like the making of Chanel’s famous fabric Camellia and feather work. It is here that I was exposed to a world of beauty and craft, which led to my integrating my knowledge of beauty and creating a narrative-driven craft for the disabled community.
As an Interdisciplinary hand embroiderer, I created an alternative couture practice that revolved around crafting narratives about medicalized bodies, both internally and externally. For example, I collaborated with three participants who had physical disabilities and chronic conditions, and created a wearable embroidery frame that was designed around the area of the body where each participant is affected by their Disability. Through conversations with these participants about their sensations and pain experiences, I carefully designed beads that visually portrayed their physical pain. These beads were then intricately hand-embroidered, using tambour embroidery techniques on their frames. This subverted the couture practice of made to measure process and created an even more personalised design approach to the body.
In this way, I hoped to empower participants and offer them a new and enjoyable way to engage with their bodies, which involves breaking away from the mundane routines of day-to-day life that often accompanies living with a physical disability.
Statement from the artist:
In 2021, I began my Masters programme at the Royal College of Art (RCA), where my focus was to use the beauty of couture embroidery and apply it to designs for people with disabilities. Having been diagnosed with Scoliosis and undergone surgery at a young age, I was concerned about the lack of consideration for aesthetics, i.e., such as balance, colour, movement, pattern, scale, shape and visual weight, in clothing designed for this community. As I had experienced in my own life, functionality of clothing or medical aids was often prioritised over aesthetic concerns.
In my first year of study, at the RCA, I undertook a Master's thesis which allowed me to explore the topic in greater depth. I wanted to know why I almost jeopardised my own health when I refused to use a scoliosis brace that I needed. Using autoethnography as a research method, I explored my own experience as well as my sister's experience of living with a disability to figure out why beauty was so important to us. With my secondary research I discovered from writers like Alan More and Donald Norman that aesthetics in design is used to create a positive experience for the user. When adaptive products or clothing is designed for disabled people without aesthetic consideration the end products can become stigmatising. This can have a detrimental impact on the user’s mental health. After gaining this understanding I was curious to understand how beauty can have a deep effect on us? How beauty contributes to preserving our mental health? It is when I encountered Immanuel Kant’s writings on aesthetic judgement that I came to the realisation that beauty offers a break from the mundanity that life can bring. It offers us balance in our everyday reality. If this is true for everyone then it’s especially true for people with disabilities that often have a challenging daily routine.
By incorporating aesthetics into design, we acknowledge and respect the inherent dignity and individuality of each person. It goes beyond pure functionality and recognizes the value of self-expression and personal identity, regardless of one's physical abilities. Designing with empathy means understanding the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of living with a disability and incorporating those considerations into the design process. It's about creating products that not only fulfil functional needs but also enhance the overall well-being and confidence of individuals.
My approach to aesthetics derives from my experience in training with couture houses/ ateliers in paris. I interned with Chanel’s métiers d’arts Maison Lemarié (one of Chanel’s embroidery atelier), Atelier Lebuisson and Atelier Baqué Molinié where we did hand embroidery samples for clients like Schiaparelli, Dior, Valentino and Fendi. I learned a range of hand embroidery techniques like luneville Crochet (crochet meaning hook in french) , tambour embroidery, needle and thread, flower embroidery like the making of Chanel’s famous fabric Camellia and feather work. It is here that I was exposed to a world of beauty and craft, which led to my integrating my knowledge of beauty and creating a narrative-driven craft for the disabled community.
As an Interdisciplinary hand embroiderer, I created an alternative couture practice that revolved around crafting narratives about medicalized bodies, both internally and externally. For example, I collaborated with three participants who had physical disabilities and chronic conditions, and created a wearable embroidery frame that was designed around the area of the body where each participant is affected by their Disability. Through conversations with these participants about their sensations and pain experiences, I carefully designed beads that visually portrayed their physical pain. These beads were then intricately hand-embroidered, using tambour embroidery techniques on their frames. This subverted the couture practice of made to measure process and created an even more personalised design approach to the body.
In this way, I hoped to empower participants and offer them a new and enjoyable way to engage with their bodies, which involves breaking away from the mundane routines of day-to-day life that often accompanies living with a physical disability.