Mark Mann Textile Design

MA Design student at Norwich University of the Arts. Lecturer in Art and Design at City College Norwich

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I see the practical action research as attempting to change something through doing it. This process of discovering the possibilities of materials and techniques allows for greater opportunities for creative thinking and idea generation. This in turn allows me to design with these possibilities in mind before moving on to deliver a product.

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The use of patination to enhance the layered quality of the work.

Much of my  research is focused on the impact of various techniques on materials, it is easy to become distracted by the visual qualities of the results even when they appear to have little to do with the original research question. As a visual practitioner, far from being a negative outcome, this is the reason we experiment in the first place. Perhaps what makes research in the visual field different from that conducted in other disciplines is openness to the fact that unexpected results can generate an emotive response that is more valid than achieving the expected.

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Pattern is a constructed thing it takes a position, has intentions, seeks to order or allow for order. With its roots in uniform. Pattern in fashion and apparel serves as an indicator that highlights a fundamental need and survival instinct to belong and be accepted. Jim Drain cited in Murray, A and Winteringham G (2015) p.5

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Throughout the masters project I have continued to explore the question of why I make  the work I make. A useful text is the velvet rage By Alan Downs.

‘As gay men we hide our truth behind the beauty we manufacture…. We decorate the world, we decorate our lives,  and our  bodies all in an effort to hide our real selves from the world.. We are professionals in remodelling ugly truths into high fashion dreams.’ Downs, A. (2006) 

Just 10 years before I was born homosexuality was still a criminal offence. Growing up I could not have imaged a time when two men could live openly together.

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Completed Chaise hand screen printed etched velvet.

 The meaning for me is in the material. I enjoy the idea that I use finely crafted facades to conceal ugly realities within my design work. I see the aesthetic qualities of the design as a way of drawing people in, which in turn opens up a dialogue. The products in turn will also allow the consumer to make statements about their own ideologies.

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The development of a statement piece bronze urinal was inspired by one of the men I interviewed, Roger, who became something of a muse. Shame plays a large role in the creative work of gay artists and designers and I wanted to create a piece that challenges the shameful notion of having to look for love, sex closeness connection in public toilets.

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Cracking open following the bronze casting.

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Online documentation of test tiles

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Hand printed wallpaper being dried. Gold Foil and binders    

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Bronze urinal being poured.

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Screen printed copper on velvet.

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Development of hand painted wallpaper

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Aim: To investigate how damaging the surface of the fabric changes the feel of a design. 

  Method: Various techniques were employed to damage the design these including devoré paste, unpicking fabric, damage though washing, discharge for bleaching out a design and combining different fabric together through machine sewing and burning away the top layer.

  Results: Results depended greatly on the fabrics being used. The constructed textiles which had devoré paste applied to them has the most natural looking damaged effect. When using discharge to damage the design it was difficult to control how much of the design is removed.

  Conclusion: Results created an emotive response and help to give the design a feel that it has had a history. A good technique for creating layers and interest

  Limitations: Very difficult to control the variables much more experimentation required.

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DEVORÉ and Hand painted Velvet

 Aim: To develop Devoré techniques with the aim of creating samples for a more opulent/high-end product.  To investigate how to create stipes using a devoré technique. To investigate how the use of devoré changes the feel of a design.

 Method: Silk viscose satin and silk viscose velvet were dyed with direct and Acid dyes in various colour combinations, These samples then  had devoré paste applied to them through a screen. The paste burns away the viscose leaving a transparent area when heat is applied.

 Results: Mixed results achieved with different colour combinations. Much of the result is dependent on the quality of the cross-dyeing and the ability to get enough devoré paste through the screen. Best results achieved when the design has solid silhouette like shapes rather than fine detail. Results can be patchy if not enough paste pulled through the screen.

 Conclusion: A very effective techniques for creating a luxury feel. Much more experimentation required to explore the possibilities of this technique.

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Patterns and decoration are political as they are a statement about who we are and what we want to say about how we live. The modern interior has never been free of political associations and in a small way I wanted to act out and create a collection inspired by the bravery of the queer interior.  Centuries of persecution, a lack of public visibility and private space has forced queer individuals to have a different and unique relationship to the modern interior and design. 

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When asked why I focus on homosexual culture I say because there is still work to do. We live in interesting times only recently did our government join with a political party that would not recognise gay marriage and around the work queer people are at risk of imprisonment persecution and death. For these people a queer space of their own is a something they can only dream of.

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I see myself very much as a maker, someone who thinks though material. Attempting to change something through doing it. The use of failure while conducting action research has been liberating. Misprinting, discharging away colour, printing on old damaged fabrics and printing with dye that is not colour fast, have all helped to provide samples that are more exciting and have greater depth and that will provide me with a valuable bank of physical samples as I progress the next stage of my career as a designer.