Guardian: made in Cambodia: experimental textile design responding to Cambodian factory conditions, unionism and the phenomenon of Neak Ta possession
Date
2018
Authors
Adams, C.
Keulemans, G.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Clothing Cultures, 2018; 5(1):97-109
Statement of Responsibility
Conference Name
Abstract
Guardian: Made in Cambodia is an ethical textiles project undertaken in response to the low-income and hazardous working conditions of garment factory workers in Cambodia. The project critically designs a range of garments that acknowledge and raise awareness of cultural manifestations of unionism in Cambodia, specifically the Neak Ta phenomenon. The garments are speculatively imagined as capable of ethical production by a small community of workers from Cambodia's garment factories in order to (capacitate) provide a mode of production and sustainable source of income alternative to industrial factory employment. The Neak Ta phenomenon refers to mass fainting associated with land guardian spirits unique to Cambodian Animist belief.
The phenomenon is regarded as a culturally appropriate form of rebellion occurring in a country where unionism is discouraged and labour protests can become violent. Guardian: Made in Cambodia applies a methodology of experimental material and processes research through textile-focused studio practice, as a means to better understand the conditions of Cambodian garment workers and the Neak Ta phenomenon. This process corresponds to a critical design approach that engages with the topic interrogatively through experimental making, in order to challenge paradigms of design and production. The resulting textile and apparel products visualize the repetitive piecework of garment factory work and the disruption caused to it by the Neak Ta phenomenon. Open and closed seams, darts and hems recall the repetitive qualities of piecework labour, disrupted by dark-toned natural dyeing techniques intended to capture and convey expressions of fainting and possession.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Link to a related website: https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/fapi/datastream/unsworks:54625/bin894a71e0-af8e-4cb1-8c4c-211913fb556a?view=true&xy=01, Open Access via Unpaywall
Access Status
Rights
Copyright 2018 Intellect