A Toxic Beauty II, 2020
Site Specific Environmental and Sound Installation
Fashion has a dirty secret. It presents itself as a glamorous, fun and essential-to-our-happiness commodity, but the garment industry is one of the biggest perpetrators of pollution (second only after the oil industry) and human exploitation in the world. Living in developed Western countries, we are far removed from the low-wage countries where garments are produced.
In line with Marxist theory of commodity fetishism, there is a collective amnesia, a shared societal repression of our contribution to this destructive industry which allows for the continuing rampant consumption of fast fashion. In the interest of a capitalist economy, consumers are covertly encouraged to remain unaware of, and disconnected from the notorious labour practices, sometimes including child labour, and the destruction and pollution of land and waterways.
My work poses the question: if we were confronted with these destructive and exploitative practices on our doorstep, if we were to witness the pollution of the rivers and waterways in our own immediate environment, if we or our relatives and acquaintances and children were being exploited in garment factories, would that change our perception of the capitalist agenda behind the fashion industry and consequently change the way we consume fast fashion? The Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek believes that “it’s much easier to imagine the end of all life on earth, for example through climate change, nuclear war or wayward asteroids than a much more modest, radical change in Capitalism”. Others believe that the presence of Covid-19 is presenting us with an opportunity to reflect upon and reset all aspects of our societies and economies.
This was a site specific work based on Sherkin Island, Ireland. It started at the pier where there were small green puddles. On embarking from the ferry from the mainland, the viewer encountered several green puddles (non-toxic pond dye) on the road as they made their way across the island. The photos above show the sequence of green puddles from the ferry pier towards the recycling centre on the island, where the main work was located. The entire recycling centre was transformed into a large scale sculptural intervention. The shipping container on the grounds, (symbolic of the global capitalist economy), which is used by the islanders to store bags of recyclable clothing and textiles, was used as a location for the sound piece. The door was left slightly ajar, with the speaker covered in green cloth, leaving it up to the viewer’s discretion to open it further or not. Green dye, representing the toxic dyes used in the textile dyeing process, was leaking directly from the container. The sound piece consisted of the build up of the sound of sewing machines; first one machine, then adding more, until there is a cacophony of sound as it turns into layers of industrial sewing machines and weaving looms and the voices of factory workers.
https://vimeo.com/469846023 Click on this link to view a video representing the installation on Sherkin Island.