[one_half padding=”0 10px 0 10px”]The Waves by Liza Lou is an installation of 1,000 cloths made up of glass beads and thread. The cloths were made by artisans in South Africa; Zulu women from the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Lou gave out packets of 300 grams of white beads to every woman, asking them each to create a panel to a specific size.
The artisans were provided with generous salaries and safe working conditions, often working from home to combine work with childcare.
Evidence of these home environments can be seen in the cloths, as each one was returned with unique markings; unintentional stains and smudges showing the hand of the maker, thereby emphasizing the unseen labour they were born of.[/one_half][one_half_last padding=”0 10px 0 10px”]
Lou’s work couldn’t be more relevant with the recent anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh, and so many of us joining the fashion revolution asking #WhoMadeMyClothes? ‘The Waves’ brings attention to unrecognized and anonymous labour and by doing so leads us to question the lack of transparency in manufacturing industries such as textiles and fast fashion.
The dishcloth, usually a lowly functional item, is elevated here to something precious and unique. This transformation from a disposable commodity to a treasured, handcrafted work of art sets an example for a more labour conscious, slow fashion that the West should be moving towards.
To see more of Lou’s work, head to her website here.[/one_half_last]
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