Olivia Silverstein is a London based designer and researcher with a background in conservation of museum objects. During her studies at the RCA Olivia has applied her knowledge and interest in materials and hand-making processes to the field of textiles, working through a variety of mediums to create pieces that span physical and digital spaces.
Olivia Silverstein
RECONFIGURE // Sensory Landscapes
Inspired by objects and images that have been touched and moulded by human hands, Sensory Landscapes explores the innately sensory properties of textile and drawing materials and their potential as tools for mindful engagement and bodily awareness. Interested in the impact of different material qualities on the user’s experience, my work aims to create rich interactions between people and technology, that are crafted by hand and experienced through skin.
Movement 1: Soft Objects — Crocheted objects in wool, cotton, hemp and mint fibre top, being squeezed, stroked and pulled.
Movement 2: Walking Brushes — Body scale charcoal drawing on paper.
The unfamiliar feeling of walking on my tools heightened my sense of balance. Manipulating the charcoal required awareness of movement throughout the whole body, applying continuous pressure, pushing and dragging to make a solid mark.
Sensory Landscape 1
Sensory Landscape 2
Medium:
Tapestry, movement, glass, charcoal, paper, sound, film.
Reduced Colour
Tactile Spectrum
Light
Heavy
Recording observations from meditative practices, I noted how the disruption of regular movement brought increased awareness to different sections of my body, altering my perception. I wanted to bring this disruption into my pieces, with varied surfaces, so different from a keyboard, that allow the user to expand their internal landscape.
Closing your eyes, you can feel your way around the hard, square edges of a high contrast boundary, or the slight difference between wool and mohair. Subtle visual and textural variations invite your eyes to focus, while a touch of colour may draw you over to another section.
Medium:
Cotton, hemp, linen, seaweed, silk, wool.
Sketchbook
Monoprints — made with waste material from making processes.
What can a drawing reveal? Drawing attention to a detail or the subtle variation between materials, changing your perception of an object.