The emergence of what could be considered 'global' artistic practice has not automatically created cross-cultural understanding. However, it seems that cloth provides a continuous undercurrent between cultures; it is both common to all cultures and culture-specific. Textile has a social, political and utilitarian history, moving across and between continents and peoples. It is a shared activity that stirs both conscious and unconscious memory. It is a language connecting practitioners in different cultures, as evidenced in their approaches and practice.
The Transition and Influence website sets out to disseminate projects highlighting exciting contemporary textile practice particularly from the UK, Japan, and other countries where contemporary textiles play an important role in the artistic and cultural discourse. The focus of the work featured in the various projects are:
Contemporary textiles as intervention in the built environment
Contemporary textiles that have emerged from a strong traditional practice
Contemporary textiles that reflect a particular culture
These projects have been initiated by Lesley Millar through the University for the Creative Arts.
For more information about Transition and Influence projects, past and future, and associated publications, click on one of the images above.
*Tom Lubbock 'The secret life of cloth' The Independent 18/6/02