Clothing and Nature

This project explored the juxtaposition of man-made objects and nature. I printed a fern-like leaf design on cheaply made and mass produced t-shirts as a commentary on the way that we consume clothing. I sought to ask two main questions:

1. Why do we hang onto clothing just because it has certain symbols on it?

2. Why do we prioritize fashion over a multitude of other things such as sustainability, quality, or even comfort?

I find it remarkable how I can transform a low quality, cheaply made t-shirts into something desirable, simply by putting my artwork on it. Furthermore, the combination of the fern print on a cheap t-shirt is incredibly ironic. The industry that produces these cheap t-shirts is responsible for incredible amounts of pollution, such as the emissions produced during manufacturing and shipping. Coupled with the fact that the garments easily tear, rip, fade or pill—resulting in many fast fashion garments being thrown away soon after purchase—fast fashion are garments are only desirable because they keep up with trends and are cheap to purchase.

Through my shirt printing project I hoped to turn a cheap shirt into something worthwhile, something worth repairing if it tears, something worth keeping if it goes out of style. I hoped that my fern design would be enough to convince people to hang onto the low quality garment it was printed on. I hoped I could transform something destructive into something beautiful through art.