Doing Despite
How do I face the material reality of a studio practice balanced against a theoretical framework centered upon environmental criticism and affect theory? What does it mean to coexist in an ecology of plastic as contributor, as collaborator?
A combination of found and new material, Doing Despite explores these questions through material flirtation that utilizes kitsch and fem aesthetics as a hyper visual language. An amalgamation of synthetic and natural fibers represents a convergence of ecology and new materialism: “ecodread”. The compositional elements are inspired by oceanography, topographical striations, and geometric patterns – an amaglamation of ruffled textiles showcase a composition reminiscent of Americana pomp and circumstance.
Doing Despite (20' x 16' x 2'); Manipulations in Synthetic Fabric: Vintage, Organza, Polyester, Tulle, Costume; Heather Davis Plastic Matter, Nicole Seymour Bad Environmentalism, Susan Sontag’s “Notes on Camp”
Doing Despite (20' x 16' x 2'); Manipulations in Synthetic Fabric: Vintage, Organza, Polyester, Tulle, Costume; Heather Davis Plastic Matter, Nicole Seymour Bad Environmentalism, Susan Sontag’s “Notes on Camp”
Doing Despite (20' x 16' x 2'); Manipulations in Synthetic Fabric: Vintage, Organza, Polyester, Tulle, Costume; Heather Davis Plastic Matter, Nicole Seymour Bad Environmentalism, Susan Sontag’s “Notes on Camp”
Detail: Manipulations in Synthetic Fabric: Vintage, Organza, Polyester, Tulle, and Costume Textiles
Detail: Manipulations in Synthetic Fabric: Vintage, Organza, Polyester, Tulle, and Costume Textiles
Detail: Manipulations in Synthetic Fabric: Vintage, Organza, Polyester, Tulle, and Costume Textiles
Detail: Manipulations in Synthetic Fabric: Vintage, Organza, Polyester, Tulle, and Costume Textiles
“Ecodread” is an affect seeking to resolve the cognitive dissonance between social expectations of sustainability and subjective material engagements. It is the personal discomfort that occurs between a desire to exist in the world as eco-conscious as possible and the reality where the expense of those decisions is not attainable. The conceptual framework of ecodread is explored within Visualizing Ecodread: Dissonance, Material, and Ecology at the End of the World.
Polyethylene terephthalate – it’s what persists long after objects are discarded, disintegrated into microplastics, or smashed together as a conglomerate of mineral, media, and matter.
Plastic was a promise of infinite potentiality, of endless supply for a demand of clear, synthetic, reflective, durable objects meant to last a lifetime. But whose lifetime? Ours or polymers? Material or mineral? The cognitive dissonance of ecodread these questions considers a reconciliation between the agency found within dread’s “doing despite” and anxiety’s paralysis. Doing Despite works through the dissonance to consider an ecological futurity where matter and audience embrace the entanglement of vibrant plasticity.
Doing Despite was awarded the MFA Visual Studies Thesis Award from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, May 2025.