Know the Weaver # 15

This time, as a part of the Know the Weaver series, we spoke with Philippa Brock. Philippa has a broad portfolio in weave practice, which includes working in research and development, design for industry through selling designs, working on future trends and sustainability projects, and is an Artist.

She is the Editor of The Weaveshed,  an open source resource website and blog for weavers and more recently has curated  “Weaving Futures” at the London Transport Musuem. She is known for her 3D experimental woven jacquard series, her exploration into the processes of making, as well as other projects.

Philippa is an educator, running the weave department at Central Saint Martins, 3 days per week. A thriving department with 64 shaft looms and 3 TC2 jacquard looms. Her ’slow’ incubator Studio Houndstooth, with  Jo Pierce is ongoing – investigating, interrogating and instigating innovative textile and material design processes, making methods leading to final design/future crafts artifacts. This studio also explores in workshops the use of textile motifs for making and dialogue.

 

1. How and when did you start weaving? What is your state of mind when you’re weaving?

When I was at Goldsmiths College in London, doing my degree in Textile Art, I was mainly working in printed textiles. Though I had brought in some dobby weaving into my final year exhibition. I came across articles about The Jacquard Project (1982) and The Art & Industry Project (1991) and from then, knew that I wanted to be one of those artists.

I was accepted into The Royal College of Art 2-year Masters (by project) programme, which involved self-teaching jacquard weave techniques, learning how to design on point paper, punch & lace the cards and weave using a fly shuttle. I also taught myself Adobe Photoshop and how to do all the designing and weaving structure processes using the software. And in my final year, I won a travel award, which I used to travel to Huddersfield. Here, they taught me how to use dedicated woven textile software, how to design for, operate and maintain an industrial digital dataweave power jacquard loom, and then left me alone on it to develop my work. I have never looked back since.

From the RCA, where I had touched on 3D-weaving approaches, when I became a Senior Research Fellow two years later at Winchester School of Art, I started my endless quest to  develop jacquard woven textiles – which became 3D in many different ways, as they come off the loom, requiring only minimal or no finishing, (alongside other types of weaving). This became the ‘on loom’ finishing technique that I continue to develop in my work.  My work is endlessly about the cloth itself. I was also designing and weaving for industry at the same time, as well as teaching one day per week.

Weaving to me is both meditative and immensely challenging. I am both zen and like a headless chicken trying to get all my ideas out at once! I also use the ludic methodologies to progress ideas.

Due to the nature of my work patterns, I usually have dedicated times  to do the actual weaving – in two week blocks. So when I have specific projects on, I am thinking constantly about the series or the projects that I am developing, around everything else I am doing. This happens through researching,  3D-paper modelling, making extensive notes, sketches and forward-planning in terms of materials testing and purchasing, asking myself the ‘what if’ questions, so when I am weaving, everything is in place and I am ready to experiment.

My research work is at times is reliant on ‘informed serendipity’ as it is difficult to cut off samples on the industrial loom to test regularly– I rely on my previous knowledge and so, each series I develop is iterations of the last one and I work with what comes off the loom, with many test strips. I am happiest when I have a weaving project or weaving quest on the cards.

2. What inspired the creation of Studio Houndstooth & The Houndstooth Project? How far has it been able to facilitate cross-discipline collaboration in investigating materials and processes?

Studio Houndstooth came about after my colleague Jo Pierce and I trialed a specialist pathway at Central Saint Martins, where some students studied weave, print and jacquard together. Even though this experiment only lasted a year (due to budget constraints), it was highly successful. We ourselves had started to run workshops for the two of us to explore collaboration and future material approaches, as this was the only way to set aside time to develop our ideas.

We use the ubiquitous houndstooth weave pattern as our point of dialogue and making, and through our personally-developed workshop methods, we have trialed these with a range of makers and non-maker groups – from children through to elders and have developed The Houndstooth Project and workshops.Anyone can partcipate in The Houndstooth Project and have their results featured on the website.

Additionally, we work on commissions, which have ranged from temporary graffiti ‘green’ walls on a major road in London. From designing the facade of a new office block in Barcelona (sadly not built in the end), to currently compiling a database of  wallpapers used in social housing homes, which we have photographed before the homes are refurbished, and are also working with the  social housing group on hoardings for a block of flats, using their wallpapers as inspiration. Studio Houndstooth is a ‘slow’ studio where some projects continue over a long period of time.

3. You’ve been involved in several exciting projects over the past years – could you mention a few favorites? Also, what’s coming up next?

 New Projects:

Some Like it Hot (working title)

Lethaby Gallery, London, Nov 2017. A group exhibition with textile and jewellery artists and designers.

All participants are exploring the part that temperatures plays in the making of their works for this exhibition. I am developing vertical layered (6-8) 3D pieces which are being developed into further multiple layers, through finishing with a laser cutter, stopping it at the point of combustion. I am also developing vertical layered pieces, combusting them to explore the end materiality…

Sensory & Smart textiles

Continuing the new collaboration on sensory & smart textiles with Samuel Plant Dempsey and Dr. Priti Veja, including exploring haptics (see below). We have developed a hacking- workshop approach to develop new works.

The ‘New Jacquard Project ’ (working title)

2018/19 or 20????

I have been mooting and having initial discussions around a contemporary approach to the original Jacquard project, potentially at Central Saint Martins and combining it with a symposium/conference/Weaving Futures approach. This is very much a work-in-progress and exploring funding opportunities currently. I would welcome discussions on this!

Key Favourite Projects:

Difficult to choose…

Weaving Futures: London Transport Museum 2016 – 2017

 

This was an experiment in woven textile process and live making – exploring an innovative curation method where the work was made as the exhibition progressed, followed by a closing private view. Curated by Philippa Brock and Samuel Plant Dempsey. Read more about the program here

Inspired by and highlighting the Transport for Londons’ bespoke moquette fabrics – the curators invited eminent designers and artists to be residents for a week each (13 weeks). Each resident had to respond to the same project brief around data on London transport systems.  A TC2 sample loom was built for and was in place for the whole season, with two employed weavers responding to each week’s residents’ designs, helping them realise and weave their final piece. There was a closing view where all the residents met up and the final pieces were discussed and exhibited.

To curate and also to have a collaboration opportunity with Samuel Dempsey and Priti Veja, as residents in the Museum, was a great chance to explore sensory textile approaches and smart materials/e-textiles again and it has taken my work in a new direction. This project is now ongoing – the format has been honed and we hope to repeat this in other countries and museums/art galleries. An archive film has been made and there is a time lapse film currently being edited. We hope to bring out a publication about the project.

The residents included:  Assemble, Beatwoven, Camira, Central Saint Martins, BA Textile students, Samuel Dempsey, Linda Florence, Eleanor Pritchard, Rare Thread :  Kirsty McDougall & Laura Miles, Ismini Samanidou, Studio Houndstooth: Jo Pierce, Takram & Priti Veja

Digital Jacquard: Mythologies: Hong Kong/China

This was a group touring exhibition, exhibiting alongside the artists I admire most – Junichi Arai, Louise Lemieux Bérubé, Lia Cook, Wen-Ying Huang, and Liz Williamson. Exhibiting at The Fashion Gallery at the Hong Kong Polytechnic, Shenzhen Modern Design Museum in China, and The Silk Museum at Hangzhou, China.

Warp Factor ’09: ‘Self Fold’ Series

This project introduced me to Oji Fibre Company in Japan, who I collaborated with, and to this day still use their paper yarns in my work. The ‘Self Fold’ 3D-series was based on origami paper folding methods – experimenting with what was possible using folding plans and how the designs, weave structures and yarn combinations self folded as they came off the loom. The series was exhibited at the Tokyo Design Centre (Japan), Guangzhou (China) and the Lethaby Gallery (London).

 Nobel Textiles – Marrying Science with Design (Group Exhibition)

Five textile artists/designers were paired with Five Science Nobel Laureates and for 2.5 years, we worked alongside the scientists to interpret their Nobel discoveries into textiles. This was funded by the UK Medical Research Council and was an exercise in public engagement and communication, to try and inform the public about science discoveries and its relevance. My Science Laureate – Sir Aaron Klug had worked in the field of X–ray crystallography, which discovered the Self Assembly and symmetry of viruses.  ‘Self Assembly’ 3D jacquard series was developed and the work was shown at The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

The Future is Here: A New Industrial Revolution.

This involved one of the first TC2 jacquard looms and my work being exhibited at The Design Museum, London, and at the Design Hub in Melbourne, Australia. I got to work in Norway at Tronrud Engineering on the loom, and the loom was then flown over to the Museum, with the work still attached.

2D: 3D – La Trames Gallery, Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles

My first solo exhibition. I developed my ‘X-Form’ series which experimented with inherently smart yarns, including phosphorescent, fluorescent and solar-reactive types, combined with design and yarn structures, to create 3D self-forming textiles which also reacted to UV light. These followed on from the emotional wardrobe smart/e-textile project that I had been involved in previously, requiring researching and developing a good look and handle, as well as conductive fabrics, which then had wires, batteries and clunky components attached to them. These fabrics also were to inspire fun.

Crafts Council Permanent collection

My work being brought by the Crafts Council and also being selected in 40:40 as a significant craft object.

4. You’ve known and worked on the Thread Controller pretty much since its launch – what are your thoughts on it?

Having recently worked more on the TC2 loom, I am completely hooked. Normally I quickly sample on the TC2, to test yarns and structures and then actually develop and personally weave all my work on a Bonas Dataweave loom at Gainsborough Weaving Company – who allow me to buy time when it is quieter at the mill and also let me run the loom myself so I can experiment endlessly, as well as run off my final works.

Weaving the larger pieces is quicker on the industrial loom (I am always time poor,) but the industrial method is not as immediate. It is hard to change my designs quickly and even though I have pushed the loom  practically to  total destruction, to see what is possible, there are times the Rapier will not take the weft yarns I may want to work with, despite the many tensioning contraptions I may build.

I miss throwing shuttles and being hands on with the yarn, and the option to be able to put anything I want across the warp.  With the TC2, where you can continually hone and change what it is you are working on and the looms have the layout to design in both placement and repeat design, so the flexibility is enormous.

5. Have there been any persons, places or experiences that have influenced your works over the years?

People:

Adam Briggs, Anne Sutton, Vibeke Vestby, Lia Cook, Patricia Kinsella, Reiko Sudo, Junichi Arai, Louise Bérubé Lemieux, Wen-Ying Huang, Sir Aaron Klug, Annette Poulton, Angela Swan, Anne Smith, to name a few. I owe my woven jacquard ‘life’ to these people, for the dialogue and the encouragement I have had  through meeting, exhibiting, working with or just being inspired by them.

Places:

Gainsborough Weaving Company, Sudbury, Suffolk – without Neil Thomas and all the staff there, I would never have been able to make all the work I have done to date. They have ceaselessly supported me for many years, letting me buy designing down time on their Digital Dataweave loom, allowing me to operate the loom myself, allow me to put on unusual warps, to always have had the warps made and have them ready for me, to have made me laugh a lot and to have given me a fantastic respite from London in Suffolk. They also sponsored a warp for my sabbatical in 2016.

Experiences:

All of the experiences in life, too many to mention, though oddly my first career as a nurse made me into the (fairly) robust person I have become, also enabling me to develop communication skills, work in collaboration, laugh in the face of adversity and time manage well. Being part of The Textile Futures Research Centre at Central Saint Martin since its inception has been a key drivers for my research. Through the years of its existence I have met and worked alongside a series of inspiring researchers.

Websites:

www.theweaveshed.org

www.thehoundstoothproject.com