Textilosaurus × Supportyourlocalartist (2025)

Dress created as part of my residency at Textilosaurus × Supportyourlocalartist. During my three-week residency at Textilosaurus in the canton of Aargau, I conducted research on knitting using domestic knitting machines. This work focused on the notion of tension and on how both the machine and the material can be tested. I also oriented my research around the idea of the found object, collection, and the reappropriation of an object that originally did not belong to me.

I explored these themes by selecting yarns with contrasting elasticity and thickness, integrating systems of "pockets" knitted directly into the fabric, and incorporating, during the knitting process, elements capable of creating weight, volume, and tension. My research then focused on thrifted buttons, integrated into the knitting through these "pockets." The lost button thus becomes the missing piece of a previously worn garment.

From this process, I produced a dress and a top: these pieces become banners of memory, carrying lived or imagined recollections. They bear multiple layers of memory that cannot be fully deciphered, but only transmitted and brought to light. The residency concluded with an open studio day, during which I was able to present my research as well as the two garments created during this period.

ᯓ★ garment exhibited, shot by Laura Schwyter
Garment worn, shot by Raphael Harari
Models: Constance and Damian