Elizabeth Balado is an artist, designer, and researcher from London, presenting a unique, experientially-driven workshop with her project “Blooming Minds: Social Printing”. Developed over the past year, the workshop combines the psychological and physical benefits of nature with community-based creation, by guiding participants to create their own prints. The workshop encourages participants to follow their own intuition to select and forage flowers and plants and then arrange a composition, before using a technique to transfer the natural dye onto cotton using a mallet.

She will be presenting a variation of the workshop at the KEYHOUSE during Munich Fabric Start, which will consist of participants applying the print technique onto tote bags, allowing them to create and keep their own work. Elizabeth’s research focuses on combining nature – especially the use of natural and recycled materials – and community, a social practice which weaves themes such as mental health while encouraging accessible creativity. Her current work can be found on her Instagram and website. Elizabeth is open to collaboration with foragers, biologists, mental health services and others interested about participating in further printing workshops.

Suzanne Corcessin’s “Being Plucked” (“Être à Fleur de Peau”) utilizes unconventional textiles to argue against the notion that bird plucking and hair removal are neutral actions. Suzanne Corcessin views these acts as political, maintaining colonial and gendered hierarchies. Through bird plucking and the aesthetics of hair removal, bodies historically have been controlled and objectified.

The installation employs latex, textiles, silicone, and feathers to create textures that confront viewers with conflicting emotions, provoking new perspectives on the debate over hair removal. In this everyday decision and product debate, the question arises: Who decides what is right or wrong, beautiful or unattractive?

“Being Plucked” questions underlying assumptions and illuminates the political dimensions of decisions about one’s body. By creating textiles that evoke discomfort, Suzanne Corcessin urges a shift in the perception of the act of hair removal, breaking through the colonial and gendered structures often associated with this topic.

Lucas Fuhrmann, the visionary behind Revoltech, inaugurates a transformative era of presentation technology that amalgamates nature, technology, and sustainability. Through innovative light columns, he creates unique experiences that not only impress aesthetically but also underscore Revoltech’s
commitment to transparency and eco-friendliness.

The revolution of Revoltech lies in the use of Hemp-Leder, an advanced fusion of hemp fibers and traditional leather. This sustainable material choice reflects Revoltech’s endeavor to promote environmentally friendly and ethical practices. The physical location of Revoltech at Darmstadt, is not just a hub of progress but also a symbol of innovation and design.

To artist Sophie Conroy, her life is an experiment. In her latest work, she chose to live without her own house for 6 months in Eindhoven, on a quest to find more connected ways of living. During this time, she experienced living amidst chaos and connection. She found various forms of shelter and witnessed the beauty of her community. Through observing her fundamental human needs, she aims to grasp their authentic essence. Embracing the discomfort of houselessness allowed her to uncover valuable insights, challenging traditional notions of art, ownership, and community.

Textiles, for Sophie, become a medium that provides protection while revealing the vulnerability of the self. Confronting existential challenges during her houselessness, textiles transform into symbols of resilience and self-discovery.

Sophie crafts her textiles using primarily found materials, notably her own clothing. She believes in the power of textiles as a communication tool, using them to capture the essence of community and home. She peels away the capitalist consumer dimension of fabric, recognising it as a fundamental connection between body and environment.

Sophie Conroy doesn’t just create artworks; she constructs spaces for dialogue and interaction. Her installations incorporate videos, tapestries, drawings, writing and projections, creating a captivating fusion of textiles and visual art. The space and Sophie herself become part of the art, inviting observers to immerse themselves in this interactive environment.

Sophie emphasises that our focus should not be on designing more ‘stuff’ but on creating new perspectives and ways of seeing. Through creating tools to shift our perspectives, Sophie believes we can move away from the current patterns of exploitation, isolation, and consumption and towards societies grounded in trust, joy, and connection.