GRP.16

Inspired by generative art, the Garment Restoration Project (GRP) is a comp­ositional exercise collaging personal archived work with second-hand materials to produce unforeseen results.

Disclaimer: utilizing second-hand (or “thrifted”) garments by no means helps the environment nor is it undermining the fast-fashion industry. Collecting garments from multiple thrift outlets requires a lot of gas mileage which is much less efficient than the wholesale shipping methods capable of moving thousands of garments within a single transit. On top of that, the dying and screen print processes add additional greenhouse emissions to these second-hand garments. Lastly, purchasing from thrift stores only increases the demand (and price) of what's available, leaving less for those in need of affordable clothing options. The thrift movement is not counter-culture, it's a marketing campaign. Our thrift dollars do not destabilize the fast-fashion economy, they inflate prices while increasing market share value for major resale distributors.

The GRP utilizes second-hand garments solely to collage the past. Each composition is a conversation between my previous work and the predisposed colors, graphics, and flaws of the garments I use as substrates. These garments have a past. The manufacturer, the designer, the printer, and the consumer all play a part in the game of Exquisite Corpse I am applying additional layers to. Working in their wake builds creative limitation forcing me to move beyond my comfort zone into the unpredictable.