Bonotevon Ny, Sensorium Proximity [Garment] [×]

I am interested in questioning and testing the conceptual and physical boundaries of what it means to be human within the public realm. In particular, seeking to challenge what I see as the conventional notion of the passive and virtually absorbed consumer which governs much of the current understanding and design of public space in modern urban centres. My design work seeks to find design opportunities to break the confinement of this passivity by emphasising the connection between the individual and their surroundings.
These ambitions have been dramatically challenged by the Covid pandemic which has severely impacted our physical freedoms in public spaces and increased our dependence upon screens in ways that have never occurred before. This project proposes a set of wearable garments and spatial apparatus that draw attention to the intangible connections between people and their environment.
In my work, I emphasise themes of fluidity, flexibility and adaptability for individuals and groups in public space. I have developed a system of wearable apparatus and spatial structures that are exemplified by what I call a bubble structure that connects individuals to their surroundings and each other. The wearable devices have a relationship to both fashion and interior design and generate a dynamic and open space for a multiplicity of activities and visual display. These embody thresholds between two spaces and between the public and the private.
I have developed and produced a series of interventions that invite embodied participation for individuals to challenge the imposed boundaries and regulations that govern social space during the pandemic. These interventions choreograph movement, costume and collaboration to highlight the human body as well as the bubble structure that generate a dialogue between inside and outside experience.
I employ methods of collaging and crafting textiles and costumes, drawing on colours, fabrics, architecture. The materiality of the bubbles is key to the experimentation of the different spaces. Surfaces are conceived as membranes composed of different patterns on the outside, softness on the inside with cotton to form the structure. I see these as a series or a range of wearable devices to be worn in public spaces s and to be first exhibited at a fashion event as part of Melbourne fashion week.