Abstract
Humans express their existence in many ways, one of which is through their ways of living and dwelling. Aesthetics of living can also be understood as symbolic systems that, in return, affect and induce people’s ways of existing. The aim of this work is to explore alternative aesthetics of dwelling with potential for more environmentally friendly human behaviors and resourceful relationships with nature. The exploration is carried out from a textile art and design perspective. The method of the research is practice-based. Artistic experimental textile design was used to explore and realize full-scale shelters for living in the woods. The exploration was conducted by visually examining a collective of different individuals – at the Swedish School of Textiles, University of Borås – building their own shelters in the Swedish woods for a few days of living, using only materials at hand, waste materials, and secondhand products for the constructions. The potential of the results was analyzed and is presented through a series of self-referential and self-institutional visual systems of the documentary photographs. The results demonstrate the aesthetic potentials and challenges of multi-faceted aesthetic dwelling based on adaptability, hybridity, variation, and differentiation, rooted in non-hierarchical structures, while still being part of interconnected organizations. The findings support the need for further exploration and development of alternative aesthetics of living and dwelling to enable more collective and sustainable ways of living.
Presenters
Clemens ThornquistProfessor, Department of Design, University of Borås, Swedish School of Textiles, Västra Götalands län, Sweden
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
ART, DESIGN, TEXTILES, DWELLING, AESTHETICS, ENVIRONMENT, BEHAVIOUR
