The Stuffed Academics - process
I have a slightly unconventional approach to research. Whilst reading about historical figures I make them in the form of Amigurumi. This process is a great academic stress reliever and it's had this unexpected benefit that ensures that I am exploring how to represent of these figures in accurate detail. The source material I draw upon are primarily duotone photography. Due to the scarcity of photography in the early 20th century, they were thoughtfully posed, with consideration given to the clothes, backgrounds, props and careful framing.
When I had completed the crocheted figure I then needed a background scene for them to be included in short animations. These "sets" were initially paper print outs and miniature props. They have become progressively more complex and detailed, which has brought unexpected paths of discovery that otherwise would be missed. A close examination of the original photographic source material has led me to investigate and research every object in detail.
There is a certain amount of snobbery when exploring making as "craft" compared to "design". I am purposefully exploring the way women have used what means they have to hand - historical figures were usually adept at sewing, crochet, knitting and lace making. Their protest banners were stitched and placards hand painted. The patterns and understanding of code is often undermined as "women's craft", however patterns are made up from complex codes and binary computer code is based on the punched cards for a Jacquard loom.
My research into the suffragettes offered a broad range of photography depicting a number of settings, but some were more interesting to me as they showed them engaging in their campaign work - often in a domestic setting that had been adapted. The Portsmouth born suffragette Hertha Ayrton used her dining room as her study - demonstrating her inventions on the table and her bookcase behind. I crocheted her based on this photo I then recreated the background to scale as a "set" for the animations. I enjoyed the process of finding and making miniature versions of any paper ephemera associated with her plans, publications, patents, letters and books. The paintings on the walls were also significant.
My research into Hertha led me to discover her close friendship with Marie Curie - who stayed with Hertha in England. I imagined the pair in correspondence and through the use of telephones, so I created a set for Marie too, using photos of her laboratory in Paris as a basis and utilising UV light to mimic radiation. Her published books and papers, patents, awards and correspondence from the time is also recreated in miniature form. Fully immersing yourself into the lives of these figures enough to recreate these scenes is perhaps eccentric but leads to a deep and real sense of their lives.
W.E.B. Du Bois has become my most ambitious project as I decided to recreate two photographs taken during the Paris Exhibition in 1902 into one set.
I am now focussing on the Stuffed Designers - W.E.B. du Bois, Marie Neurath, Margaret Calvert, Gail Anderson, and Beatrice Warde.