Beneath and Within, Stage View, 2024.
Beneath and Within
Underneath Tāmaki Makaurau, within in the lava caves, a creature wanders...
Within Tāmaki Makaurau, in the caves carved out by lava flows, wanders a creature from the deep. It ambles along, light ebbing, heat flowing outwards. Every so often it stops, tilts its head upwards, and listens to the world above.
Materials : Lamb covers, LED strips, wool
Beneath and Within was a finalist in the 2024 World of WearableArt show : Dream Awake.
‘Beneath and Within’ evolved from my love of wool and volcanoes. The correlation of heat became central as the design developed to encompass lighting emitting from tubes. My home is Tāmaki Makaurau, and the caves that remain unseen beneath it fascinate me. I wondered what could live in there unbeknownst to us. What would this creature do? How would it mirror the environment of the cold caves - while also holding the warmth of the volcanic field?
This entry was created within a short period of 9 weeks as a project for an elective at university; the bulk of the production done in a month. It is mostly constructed from used and surplus lamb covers sourced from several sheep breeders. These had to be throughly washed and dyed. The outfit was worked up in the round, building on it in rings to have minimal straight seams. Some sheep breeders also kindly gifted me raw wool, which I processed and incorporated as the sleeve/hood ends and the wool ‘warts’ that cover the body. I was determined to have some sort of lighting, so I had help from the university workshop to learn and wire up my own LED strips.