Slow Jacket

The work is installed as a combination of two large freestanding flat-screen monitors and six suspended pieces of fabric hung from metal cables, arranged in the manner of a stage set. When viewed from the front, the fragments of moving image and the differently coloured fabrics appear as a single flat image. However, because the screens and fabrics are positioned at different depths, it is possible to walk between the various layers of screen and fabric, transforming the work into a miniature environment.

The video documents a process—the slow-making of a work jacket unfolds through a sequence of gradually changing shots. Sleeves can carry many things: hearts, patches, badges, labels, logos, safety pins. Such additions reveal different aspects of the wearer. Similarly, seams may be visible or concealed, and the making of a garment can be more or less tangible. In the case of this work jacket, the focus is not so much on displaying an emotional or psychological interior state on the outside, but rather on allowing the garment itself to speak about labour (both skilled and unskilled), effort, and the time invested in its production.

This jacket is a reworked version of a traditional work coat. The material is durable; utility, protection, and functionality take precedence. However, instead of badges, several images have been sewn onto its exterior. These images are fabric prints depicting different stages in the garment’s construction, drawing attention to the labour embedded within the work coat itself.

The process is slow, and we have slowed it down even further: the fabric is purchased, cut, washed, dyed, washed again, ironed, and so on. This work coat serves as a record of the transformation of material into object. In a sense, all garments may be understood in this way, but this particular piece seeks to visualise the effort, the network of activities and people, and the often invisible labour that takes place behind the scenes. When this labour is forgotten, it becomes easier to regard clothing as apolitical or uncomplicated within economic systems that are frequently exploitative and harmful.

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