Amarte Fonds and FASHIONCLASH joined forces to offer artists from different disciplines the opportunity to experiment with fashion and to present new work during FASHIONCLASH Festival. Five artists have been selected from an open call with an intrinsic desire to collaborate with a fashion designer and to relate to the fashion context. They are then paired with a fashion designer and invited to experiment. 
Naza Løtus x The Nightmare Disorder, photo by Mitch van Schijndel
The five couples did not know each other beforehand. After the matches were made, they got to work, starting from their shared fascinations. It is special what these designers and artists have created in a very short period. They show that intrinsic desire to collaborate and artistic curiosity actually lead to innovation. Five new works that came out of this project transcend disciplinary qualifications; they are simply just works of art.
Manka Menga X Katharina Spitz and Naza Løtus x The Nightmare Disorder showed their installation/performance at the opening show in Sint Anna-kerk and also at Marres, house for contemporary culture, where the work was installed as an exhibition that at times was activated as a performance.
With 'I SEE YOU SEEING ME' by designer Katharina Spitz in collaboration with poet/artist Manka Menga, questions are asked about being a woman, the desire for rituals and the location of the physical body in space and time. Manka and Katharina are inspired by women who, through their resistance to societal norms, have earned a place in both the history books and in the hearts and minds of society.
By merging the Taiwanese folktale "The Princess of Eight Treasures" with historical Dutch costume, Taiwanese drag artist Naza Løtus and costume design studio The Nightmare Disorder presented “acht” (meaning eight). A performance that transforms costumes into storytelling mediums, blending fashion and drag to create a unique fusion of cultural narratives and artistic expression.
A performance that transforms costumes into narrative media, combining fashion and drag to create a unique blend of cultural stories and artistic expression.
 |
| WEEF.collective x Roumans, photo by Mitch van Schijndel |
WEEF.collective (Lieve Fikkers & Hélène Vrijdag) x Roumans explored new dimensions of transience and decay. Through their shared vision, they delve into the delicate interplay of time—slowing down and accelerating processes, questioning the lifecycle of textiles, and examining the very essence of sustainability. A month prior to the festival some garments were buried in the garden of Marres and excavated during the festival as a performative action. They aim to challenge conventional ideas about the life and death of textiles, bringing forth a vision where fashion is not only worn but evolves, fades, and vanishes—while leaving behind nothing but its legacy.
With 'Building a House or Digging a Hole', Mira Verhoeve x Dirk Vaessen transformed De Meldkamer into an interdisciplinary, physical and disorienting work that borders between design and performance. Inspired by mazes, negative space and the strong but vulnerable nature of paper, Dirk and Mira present a study that asks questions about the search for identity and the feasibility of a utopia.
 |
| Mira Verhoeve x Dirk Vaessen, photo by Laura Knipsael |
ULKAAN, which stands for the collaboration between Kaan Hiçyilmaz & Ulkuhan Akgul, presented their installation 'cid' at Mariastraat 13 during the three days. At set moments the installation was activated by performers Famil Zaman and Aidan Bay. With a focus on disrupting conventional identity classifications, this collaboration combines fashion and digital technology to explore the semiotics of the human body beyond binary structures. Their approach to fashion becomes a plea for the manifestation of self-expression(s) against meanings imposed on individuals.
 |
| ULKAAN, photo by Mitch van Schijndel |
“By creating sculptural garments with fluid physicalities, we bring forward unconventional bodily data as opposed to the rigid identity assignment. In a multimedia environment, the performer activates these garments to produce ambiguous, unpredictable, and dirty information under the surveillance of the audience. This decoding process addresses the systemic issues around gender and sexual identities while provoking resistance for their complexities.” ULKAAN
All images are by Mitch van Schijndel, except Mira Verhoeve x Dirk Vaessen which are shot by Laura Knipsael.
ULKAAN
No comments:
Post a Comment