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No full textLimited edition print for Object Multiple project 'Flatpack'
Foldable performance photograph.
Flatpack was launched in October 2024 and continues to expand
Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks: Interpretations, Art & Pedagogy
Get PDFA publication that features 6 texts responding to themes and ideas in Frantz Fanon’s seminal book Black Skin, White Masks. The texts derive from presentations made in 2021 for the Omitted Histories video series with contributions from Rotimi Akinsete, Jheni Arboine, Anita Waithira Israel, Dr Amita Nijhawan, Rahul Patel and Dr Gurnam Singh. Each piece draws out a unique response to Fanon’s work and brings lived experience to speak pertinently about race, racism and pedagogy. We hope for this to be a valuable resource for educators and beyond to take inspiration from these pieces of writing that manifest and bring forward the anti-racist resistance inherent in Fanon’s work.
The publication has been produced by Rahul Patel and Gemma Riggs. The original video presentations were co-curated by Rahul Patel and Nicola Tagoe. It has been supported by the Academic Enhancement team in the Teaching, Learning and Employability Exchange
Arctic Anti-Radio
No full text"Arctic Anti-Radio" is an essay which focuses on a series of field recordings made by the author that combine conventional microphones with sensor systems designed to capture the energies and dynamic properties of electro-magnetic radiation. These recordings were made in North Norway / Sápmi, a region where Norwegian energy infrastructure projects relating to hydro-electric and wind power are presented as part of a green transition away from a fossil fuel economy and yet have been met by resistance from Sámi and others who believe these structures pose threats to indigenous lives and places and to more-than-human populations such as birds (affected by wind turbines) and reindeer (affected by underground cables and acces routeways).
The essay describes these conflicts, the processes involved in recording the electro-magnetic energies of infrastructure and considers how an audio essay might develop that is beholden neither to the 'musical' as form nor to the voice as interpretative authority and nor to the sleeve or programme note as textual support. Is there an audio essay that can be lead by sound that has not been processed according to conventions of audibility? What kinds of expectation would such an approach place on its listeners? As the volume's introduction has it "Carlyle uses this as an opportunity to ask whether the audio essay continues to bow too much to the didacticism of the traditional essay form, clinging to insistently to fragments of the textual archive as anchors from which sound can take off".
The wider edited volume seeks to explore ideas of the 'audio essay,' a relatively new coining but a concept that resonates not just with cognate notions such as the video essay or film essay but with earlier forms of reflective thought in sonic form.
Other contributors, artists, philosophers, curators, include Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Lendl Barcelos, Justin Barton, Ben Borthwick, Matt Colquhoun, Jessica Edwards, Kodwo Eshun, Steve Goodman, Ayesha Hameed, Eleni Ikoniadou, Lawrence Lek, Robin Mackay, Paul Nataraj, Emily Pethick, Iain Sinclair and Shelley Trower
Beyond North-South-South-North Binaries:Towards Insurgent Cosmopolitanism Fashions
Get PDFMy starting point for my provocation is that Universalist thinking, the idea that there is one dominant concept that constitutes what fashion is, denies the idea of multiple fashions and erases local differences. But significantly, universalist thinking exists in the global north and south, its in the big cities, its with the privileged and elite and it silences critique of fashion: critique of profit driven capitalist models, critique of the lack of waste in fashion or critique of low wages for factory workers/ And worse, universalism enables those silences to be created and maintained. So, the question for me is then: how can we work towards an understanding of global and cultural differences based around non-universal local differences? Recent developments in fashion theory and practice focused on decolonising narratives place limited emphasis on the relationship between racial hierarchies, epistemicide - a term used to describe the murder of knowledge - and the shaping of racist paradigms. Is the task simply to create more representation of the global south in the north or is it a lot more complex? So, to counter universalist fashion knowledges, I will argue for the need to centre subaltern forms of fashion knowledge, the knowledges from those who have been colonised: the fashions of the protestors to the fashions of the poor, the indigenous – the outsiders - as a way to extend and pluralise fashion design in a way that moves beyond simplistic north/south/south /north binarie
Ascension
No full textGroup Exhibition
"Pissing in the river, watching it rise”.
Not The Ascension of Christ disappearing into the clouds nor the earthly ascension of the human from the primaeval swamp. They were ascendancies over the mortal or lesser life forms, stories of transcendence, of rising above and beyond. Evolution as a struggle for verticality, of the intellectually, and spiritually, upwardly mobile Homo Erectus, ending with Elon Musk ejaculating himself into space.
This ascension is that of the warm piss rising in the river, of fireworks and fountains, not defying or mastering gravity but as an anti-gravitas. A form of levitas as a tactic to resist the dead weight of academia, the mortis of rigour. Ascension is a position against the instrumental, the useful or the valuable. It is pure expenditure, the release of weights, it is what goes up in smoke
Feral Sensing. Notes on the Artificial and the Intelligent
Get PDFA session led by Betti Marenko as Camp Instructor at the 16th Deleuze & Guattari Camp and Conference 2024 - Intelligence, Instituting and Archiving
So you want to teach with materials? Or, things to consider before developing a materials library
No full textThis resource is the outcome of a knowledge exchange project between UAL (London College of Fashion and Central St Martins) and UWE (City Campus) to create a set of teaching materials (lesson plans) to enable educators, such as librarians and technical staff, to facilitate materials literacy sessions with higher education students.
This document aims to guide you to start supporting teaching and learning with materials, even if you haven’t got a materials library. It provides you with the information and guidance you need to start building your own materials literacy workshops with example session plans, activities and guidance on building your own materials teaching aids
Beyond Extractivist Epistemologies in Fashion Histories
No full textBalenciaga’s seminal sari dress from the 1960s is celebrated for its innovation, yet this design selectively uses some aspects of the Indian sari whilst decontextualising many of its more meaningful elements. To further explore this dominant design process in fashion, this talk sets out to explore the role that knowledge plays in the construction and maintaining of hegemonic thinking and practices in fashion histories, many of which lead to ongoing systemic racist, body ableist, classist, sexist and heteronormative concepts. Decolonial scholars stress the significant role that coloniality thinking plays in shaping dominant epistemologies, pointing to extractivist thinking, an approach that separates resources from their original contexts. Extractivist approaches ignore modernity’s roots in decontextualising knowledge systems from their sources; in a fashion context, this extractivist process then commodifies decontextualised fashion knowledges and embeds them with exchange value. Colonial thinking and fashion epistemologies have been used to control and manage subaltern cultures by re-working them into capitalist, heteronormative and elite fashion cultures of the Global North. Extractive epistemologies in fashion raise important questions regarding the nature and extent to which colonial logic operates to produce racial hierarchies and racist fashion design epistemologies: how might a non-extractive approach in fashion contribute towards more justice-oriented fashion narratives
International Student Library: A Postcolonial Approach in Art and Design Learning
No full textThe paper analyses the methods behind setting up a multilingual, international library in the Certificate of Higher Education studio space at LCC-UAL. It explores the history of this student-led library as an interface between technology, pedagogy, and culture that has decolonised the study material.
The library was initially developed in 2018 as part of the ‘Certificate in Higher Education: Preparation for Design Media and Screen’ course at the University of the Arts London.
It invited international students and staff to bring books and films from their countries and run student-led seminars discussing dimensions of their cultures. At the end of the year, students exchange books and ephemera ending up with someone else’s favorite artefact that was often in a different language. Ever since, it has been as a space for students to run seminars and bring knowledge from their cultures, facilitate academics to learn from our international cohorts, socialize and enhance student voice and community. In 2023-24 the library expanded beyond UAL to students and staff from other Universities.
The student engagement has resulted in critical debates about the political nature of knowledge across cultures outlining that learning and language are political and the need for Art and Design Education to foster ecologies whereby learners are able to live and create by their virtues
3D Printing in Cosmetics: Investigating New Skin Delivery Platform
No full text3D printing is an innovative manufacturing technology that can produce bespoke objects through a precise, layer-by-layer deposition of materials. While its potential in pharmaceutical manufacturing is well acknowledged, its application in the cosmetics industry remains underexplored. This study investigates the use of 3D printing in developing innovative, effective and sustainable cosmetic delivery systems, focusing on Stereolithography (SLA) and Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), two widely used 3D printing techniques.
The SLA 3D printer operates via free-radical based photopolymerisation process and was selected for its high-resolution capabilities and prior success in fabricating microneedles (MNs) for transdermal drug delivery. SG dental resin, a commonly used photopolymer, was employed due to its mechanical strength and biocompatibility. However, the SLA technique faced challenges, primarily due to limitations in the resolution of desktop SLA printers and the physical properties of SG resin, leading to blunt microneedle tips unsuitable for effective skin penetration. These findings underscore the need for advancements in SLA technology and material optimisation to meet the precision demands of cosmetic microneedle fabrication.
The extrusion-based FDM 3D printer was selected for its accessibility and specific capability to perform dual-material printing, enabling the fabrication of two-part skin patches. These patches comprised a hydrophobic polylactic acid (PLA) backing material and a hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) layer designed to interact directly with the cosmetic formulation. The dual-material approach allowed for the seamless integration of materials with distinct properties. The PVA layer served as the delivery platform for the cosmetic formulation, ensuring controlled release and effective adherence to facial contours, while the PLA backing provided structural support and durability. This design enabled precise customisation to fit various facial areas.
To explore controlled release mechanisms, these 3D-printed patches were loaded with hydrogels containing a model hydrophilic active ingredient, caffeine. Six gelling agents, including polysaccharides, cellulose derivatives, and a synthetic polyacrylate, were used at varying concentrations. The hydrogels were characterised using rheological tests (continuous flow and oscillatory methods with MARS iQ Air, Thermo Scientific, Germany) and thermal analyses (Discovery thermogravimetric analyser and Q2000 differential scanning calorimeter, TA Instruments, USA).
In vitro release studies using a vertical diffusion cell system with cellulose acetate and skinmimicking membranes demonstrated that the viscosity of the hydrogels significantly influenced caffeine release. Lower-viscosity gels exhibited higher flux rates through skinmimicking membranes. It was shown that the controlled release of caffeine could be achieved through the combined effects of the 3D-printed PVA insert and the caffeine-containing hydrogel.
This research provides valuable insights into optimising the design of skin delivery platforms, focusing on critical factors such as surface characteristics, thickness, and the selection of gelling agents informed by their rheological and thermal properties. The FDM method demonstrated success in producing dual-material cosmetic patches due to its capability for customisation and controlled integration of distinct material properties. However, the SLA method encountered challenges in microneedle fabrication, as the resolution limitations of desktop SLA printers and the mechanical properties of SG resin resulted in blunt microneedle tips. This highlighted the need for further advancements in SLA technology and material formulation to address these limitations and enhance its application for cosmetic microneedles.
The novel contributions of this thesis include the application of dual-extrusion FDM technology to create customisable cosmetic skin delivery systems and the development of a new in vitro Skin insertion test. This test simulates the elastic properties of human skin, improving the evaluation of microneedle performance. These findings offer a foundation for future research and practical applications in the development of 3D-printed cosmetic delivery platforms, particularly in terms of material selection, active ingredient loading, and production methodologies