For this project I completed at Central Saint Martins Fashion Design and Draping Short Course, I (along with every other student) was instructed to interpret the phrase “Your privilege. Your power.” by creating a concept related to a privilege or power that we found the most important in life. I began by creating a mind-map of the core parts of my identity, and the privileges that are bound to them. While connecting the parts of my mind-map, I realized that every single aspect of my identity was connected to the way I approached and viewed life, my experience. Seeing this inspired me to base my concept/project on the power of experience: the idea that the real-world experiences we face in everyday life contribute to the way we perceive ourselves, others and the world. The power of experience forms the foundation for human connection, empathy, resilience, life purpose, and growth. To me, experience is everything.
Mind Map
After completing my primary research, I went to the library and sought out photos that I believed encapsulated the power of experience to create a mood board. Life experience is essentially a bundle of moments filled with all sorts emotions, such as excitement, serenity, anxiety, joy, satisfaction, dejection, elation, etc. and I wanted to show that in my research and eventually, my final product. The mood board I created above contains works from photographers Wolfgang Tillmans, Piotr Uklański, and Mario Testino. I am particularly inspired by Wolfgang Tillmans' work, especially in the context of this project. He mainly focuses on questioning our perceptions of existing values and hierarchies, while also sharing his perspective of the world.
I continued my research by visiting the Tate Modern Museum and created a quick observational sketch of an art piece I felt resonated with my concept: "Bag Piece" by Yoko Ono. The Bag Piece forces viewers to wonder about the bags purpose, and, when participants enter the bag, forces viewers to imagine what is happening inside the bag. At its core, to me the Bag Piece represents the idea of perception, providing commentary on how our experiences shape our perception of the world around us.
